


Elf

by DruidKitty



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, elf! belle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2018-08-28 14:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 33,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8448952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DruidKitty/pseuds/DruidKitty
Summary: Elf AU (the Will Ferrell movie) As human raised as an elf, Belle has never truly fit in at the North Pole despite her copious amounts of Christmas spirit. So when she finds out she's adopted, she sets out to find her real father, but instead finds something more with a man notoriously known for being on the naughty list, Adam Gold.





	1. Chapter 1

**a/n: I do not own OUAT, Elf or any of the characters.**

Oh hey there you. I'm sure you're here for the story…probably because it's a love story. You humans and your love stories-always expecting someone to tell them to you.

Elves are supposed to love to tell stories; I bet you didn't know that. It's a pastime I never cared for, but as an elf I have an obligation. I sure as hell wouldn't be telling this story if it didn't have to do with my daughter Belle, well adopted daughter, but you'll figure that out soon enough. Oh…I'm an elf by the way. You probably didn't know that either. There's probably a lot you don't know about elves, but maybe you do-I don't know you. But I guess I should tell you anyway. Wouldn't want to be categorized with one of the "bad elves."

There's only three jobs available to an elf-I wish there were more options but there's not. First is making shoes at night for that lazy old cobbler while he sleeps. That lazy bum needs to do it himself, but let's face it, we elves are just too nice. Most of us anyway.

The second job is baking cookies…in a tree. How ridiculous is that? Who comes up with this stuff? As you can imagine it's very dangerous especially during dry season-having an oven in an oak tree. Thing's always catching fire-no fun for anyone.

But the third job however, some call "the show" or "the big dance." I however, call it "a pain in my ass." Uh…don't tell the big guy I said that, even though he probably already knows. Just like he knows I would prefer working in the mines with the dwarves, but I'm stuck here.

Most elves though wish they could be where I'm at, building toys in Santa's workshop. It's a job only an elf can do, our nimble fingers, active minds, and natural cheer are perfect for toy building. Cheer…ha! That's something you've probably noticed I don't have much of. I did once, when I first came here, but one story at a time. I barely like telling this one, I don't want to start another.

Santa did try using gnomes and trolls, but the gnomes drank too much…not that I don't like a cold one every now and again…and then the trolls weren't toilet trained. Now that was a mess…

No human though has ever set foot in Santa's workshop…that was until about twenty-five years ago. So of course that's where our story begins. It was Christmas Eve and Santa was making his usual rounds-no real issues-a few hiccups here or there, nothing major…until he came to one of his last stops: some convent that doubled as an orphanage.

While he was placing all the toys we slave over under the Christmas tree for all the kids who don't have parents, he failed to notice that a baby girl, Belle as you can probably figure, had slipped out of her crib and crawled into his big red bag.

He didn't even notice until he got back and we were all celebrating a job well done! I guess I can't blame the man-anyone would be tired after the long trip he makes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We've had another successful year!" Santa exclaimed happily as he held his mug of hot chocolate up to all the elves for a toast about a job well done.

The elves cheered, chiming in all their two cents worth, praising the fat and jolly man in red. Everyone took a swig of their drink along with their boss. Most of the elf's were ecstatic, acting as if this was a first, but one lone elf sat by himself in the back, his mug filled with hot chocolate just like all the others, only with a nice little addition to spruce the drink up. The elf, who had a dark black beard and a head of hair to match it just rolled his eyes and seemed certainly much less unenthused than all the others in the room. "And after all that hard work," the elf, who had earned the nickname Grumpy, grumbled where all could hear, "It's time to start preparations for next Christmas!" He said the last part with a fake smile as if he was happy to do such a thing, but he clearly wasn't. However, every other elf in the room, and even Santa, didn't pick up on his sarcasm and they all cheered in union, toasting the idea.

Then suddenly movement from the sleigh in the corner and a squeal caused everyone to halt, even Grumpy, and look over to see what it was.

"What in the sam hill is that?" Santa said as he took a step closer to the bag on the sleigh, which was now moving.

Everyone just stared; afraid of what it may be until finally one of the braver elves went up to it and dared pulling the sack open.

"WOW!" the entire crowd gasped simultaneously.

"A baby!" said one of them.

Sure enough, there in the bag sat a little baby girl with bright blue eyes and brown hair. She was as happy as could be and smiled big as she looked around at the room full of elves and their brightly colored clothes.

"She must've snuck into your sack at the orphanage," commented someone.

The brave elf picked her up then. "She sure is a pretty thing," he commented as he brought her over to Santa. "I wonder what her name is…"

Santa gently took the baby from the elf and grinned at her. The little girl looked up at him with the brightest and bluest eyes that held nothing but amazement. She had the rosiest cheeks and her skin was creamy and soft. She reached up and grabbed Santa's beard as she began to giggle.

"A baby this beautiful could only have one name, a name which itself means beauty…Belle," Santa told everyone.

"What do we do?" called another elf from the crowd as everyone there began to chatter amongst themselves about this recent event. Even Grumpy was intrigued, but no one noticed him as he stood and went closer to get a better look.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So Santa had a decision to make. Fortunately for that little girl, when it comes to babies, Santa's a pushover. So Belle stayed here with an older elf, which by now you have to know is me. I had wanted children at one point in my life, but it never happened and again…I'm sticking to one story at a time.

But I am Belle's adopted father. And even though she was human, she wasn't any different from the other children, well, I mean…not really. Although she did grow twice as fast. Us elves are so much smaller, so everything here in the North Pole is made to fit us. But never once has she ever complained.

Just like all the other elf children she attended elf school to learn our ways and how to build toys. Oh yeah and she can even recite that silly code we all have: the code of the elves:

Number one, Treat every day like Christmas.

Number two, There's room for everyone on the nice list.

Number three, The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

Now as you may know by now that I have a lot of difficulty with this, but Belle-well she's a natural. If any human were ever truly meant to do this job then it would be her. The enthusiasm she holds for Christmas, how happy she always is, how hard she works…she really does love this job, loves Christmas, and everything about it.

As she grew, she certainly lived up to her name, growing more beautiful each day. Luckily I never had to worry about a flock of human boys chasing her, but somehow she still ended up with one off the naughty list-he's really not that bad…at least I don't think so…but now I'm getting ahead of myself, so let me go back to what I was saying…When she was old enough I made her my own personal apprentice. See the big guy had given me a special job after seeing how unhappy I was just building toys…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I've never been in this room before." Belle's eyes lit up as she followed her father into a securely guarded room, built for only one purpose: housing Santa's gorgeous red sleigh.

She had certainly seen the sleigh before, but only on Christmas Eve when Santa was preparing for takeoff. She walked over to it and gently ran her hand over the gold rim in a loving manner. "Why did we come here, Papa?"

"I think it's time you start your tinker training," Grumpy told her. He stepped over to a cabinet in the corner in the room and began pulling out an assortment of tools.

Belle walked over to help him, taking them from him and setting them neatly on a workbench. "What do you mean?"

"Santa's sleigh, you're gonna help me make it fly."

Belle furrowed her brow and tilted her head, shooting a glance over at the sleigh. She tucked a piece of stray hair behind her head. That afternoon instead of wearing her usual elf hat, she had her long brown locks tied up with a bright pink bow, which matched her bright pink knee length dress. It was made of wool to keep her warm and lined in white fur to add that hint of Christmas spirit. She also had the white stockings, along with the matching pointed tipped shoes with bells on the end. It was pretty, but it was what all the female elves wore so Belle liked to add her own personal touch, hence the bow in her hair that day. "I thought the magical reindeer made the sleigh fly…"

The grumpy old elf walked over to the table and began sorting the tools, handing Belle a wrench and grabbing a toolbox. "Yes, but where do the reindeer get their magic from?"

Belle giggled at such a silly question. "Christmas spirit! Everybody knows that!"

Her father looked up at her intensely. "Well believe it or not-times have changed and a bunch of people down south don't believe in Santa Claus."

Belle gasped and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over the foot of the sleigh, but caught herself just in time. She looked at her father with wide eyes and disbelief. "What? No…" Her line of sight followed her father as he walked around the sleigh, preparing to work. "B…but I don't understand. If they don't believe in Santa, who do they think puts all their toys under the tree?"  
"There's a rumor going 'round that the parents do it."

"Parents?" Belle laughed it off, relaxing a little and shaking her head. "That's ridiculous. Parents couldn't do that all in one night. And what about Santa's cookies? I suppose parents eat them too?" She laughed again. This had to be a joke. Although her father rarely joked…

But even Grumpy had to laugh at that one. "Ridiculous isn't it?" His face went sullen then. "But every year it seems less and less people believe in the big guy. Now we have a huge energy crisis on our hands."

He motioned for Belle to follow him and then he pointed to a meter in the center of the sleigh, which measured Christmas spirit. Unfortunately the needle was teetering dangerously close to the red, showing the low amount of spirit that existed in the world. "See?"

Belle frowned. "I just don't understand…how could this happen?"

Grumpy shrugged. "I don't know, but…" He took Belle by the arm then and led her to the back of the sleigh where he opened a hatch revealing a very large cylindrical shaped engine. "That's why I had to build this little beauty."

Once again, Belle's eyes lit up as she took in the fancy looking mechanical thing. She had never seen such a thing. "What is it?"

"A Cringle 3000," he explained as he laid down on a rolling cart to go under the sleigh to examine it. "A 500-reindeer power jet turbine engine. Without it the sleigh couldn't get more than a few feet off the ground."

Belle stood back and just watched what he was doing, not wanting to get in the way. "So this is what you've been doing for Santa? Instead of building toys?"

"Yes," he called to her from under the sleigh. For a few minutes he was silent, concentration on his work and then suddenly a slew of naughty words came spilling out of his mouth that Belle knew could easily get one on the naughty list.

"Papa!" Belle exclaimed, appalled. "What in candy cane heaven has caused you to talk like that?"

Grumpy rolled out from underneath the sleigh and looked up at his daughter. "We got a short in the thermo coupler," he grumbled. "And there are a few other issues…it's going to take a good bit of time to fix."

Belle knelt down beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Papa, you don't have to be so grumpy…we can repair it, together, if you just show me how."

The old elf sighed and his features softened as he saw how positive his daughter was. "You know you are the only one who can calm me down and make me not hate the world."

Belle smiled. "I know Papa…now," She stood back up, ready to go retrieve whatever her father needed. "…stop saying those naughty words and let's make this sleigh fly!"


	2. Chapter 2

            As much as Belle was accepted by her family and friends, she still was pegged as the odd one and it wasn’t just because she was human. You see ever since she was a little girl my daughter has had a strange obsession with books-something that is really not characteristic of an elf. Constantly I’ve caught her sneaking off to read or running late to work because she just had to finish one more chapter.

            I never cared too much, but when it gets in the way of work the other elves can get annoyed and then sometimes I have to put them in their place. No one talks bad about my little girl!

            On top of the reading, there were also a few drawbacks of being human living in an elf’s world that Belle just couldn’t avoid…

xxxxxxxxxxxx

            It was a day like any other day. All the elves sat around the workbench, chatting, and working steadily as they assembled a batch of Etch A Sketches while listening to Christmas tunes. Belle sat near the end of the table where she could have more room to work easily because of her size.

            The elf in charge, one they called Doc, circled the table as he recorded each elf’s progress for the day. Belle felt very nervous as he approached her and her hands were shaking. As hard as she tried she just couldn’t keep up with the others and was terrified of telling them how many she had finished for the day.

            Doc came up beside her and gave her a half smile already expecting a low number. “Hey Belle, how many have you completed?” he asked.

            Belle stopped what she was doing and looked up at him nervously with a big frown on her face. “Well…Doc…um…I’m going to be a little bit short on today’s quota…”

            Doc remained calm and looked at her understanding. “It’s all right, Belle. Just tell me how many you finished.”

            Belle wrung her hands in her lap anxiously and stared down at them as she hesitated to answer. “I made um…well…eighty-five…”

            The room went silent then, the music halted, and the elves completely stopped what they were doing to stare at Belle in shock. Belle glanced up and she felt this giant lump in her throat. She was so humiliated.

            “Eighty-five?” Doc repeated as if he hadn’t heard her correctly. His smile completely disappeared, but he did his best to try and remain understanding. But when he glanced at his clipboard seeing how behind Belle was, there was no hiding how bad this was. “That puts you…oh…that’s not good...”

            Belle could feel tears burning in her eyes. Because of her there may not be enough Etch A Sketches for all the boys and girls. Doc was always calm and forgiving about her progress, but she knew he was frustrated. She also knew how all the other elves felt about her: that she couldn’t do it, that she just wasn’t as great as them. And having them stare at her was not helping her remain in control of her emotions.

            “I know what you all are thinking,” she said sadly. “I’m the worst toy maker in the world. I’m a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.” A few tears escaped and she tried to unsuccessfully hide them.            

            Doc reached over and patted her on the back. “No, Belle you’re not a cotton-headed ninny-muggins,” he assured her.

            “Yeah,” chimed in Sleepy. “We all have different talents, that’s all.”

            The rest of the elves began to try and comfort her seeing how upset she was.

            Belle wiped away her tears on her sleeve and managed to smile at them for their efforts. She didn’t believe them though. “It seems like everyone else has the same talents except for me.”

            “You have lots of…Ah…AH…AHCHOO! Uh…talents,” Sneezy piped in after a loud sneeze. He looked over at the other elves for help with examples.

            “Yeah special talents, like…uh…” started one elf.

            “Special talents?” Belle looked up, confused.

            Happy clicked his fingers as something came to mind. “You’re the only one who can change the batteries in the smoke detector! No one else can reach them! And in six months you can change them again!”

            Belle tried her best to look confident, but she knew they were struggling to come up with examples. Why wouldn’t they just admit she wasn’t good at anything?

            “Yeah and you have a lovely singing voice,” said another elf. “We all enjoy listening you at choir…” The other elves agreed.

            “And the children love it when you read to them,” Doc added. “Mine always tell me of your stories.”

            “See Belle, you’re not a cotton headed ninny muggins,” Happy said hoping to ease her insecurities.

            “Yeah, you’re just special…”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

            And so Belle was sent to…uh…where the special elves work. It kills me she has such a hard time and I hate she has to work in the toy quality assurance department, but there wasn’t another option. It wasn’t possible for her to keep up with anything else.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

            Belle sat in the back of the warehouse alone as she tested each jack in the box to assure it worked properly. Despite the fact that other elves came and went as they worked and even stopped to chat with her, she felt completely isolated from everyone. She knew she was different and it was depressing trying to keep up and not be herself. And besides her father, she had no real friends she could talk to about it either.  

            And not to mention she hated the quality assurance job. Well hate was a strong word. She didn’t really hate anything, but it was stressful to check to make sure jack-in-the-boxes were working. No matter how many times she turned the wheel, the jack always startled her every time it popped up. And even when she thought one was broken, as she was writing it up it still managed to pop out and shock her. Although she was slow, she enjoyed making toys, but she knew it was a lost cause.

            Belle sighed heavily and sat the supposed broken jack-in-the-box aside, feeling more frustrated than ever. Right now she could really do with a good long book that she could lose herself in. One where she could imagine she was the main character going on many adventures and maybe even falling in love with a prince in disguise.

Her dreamy thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door open and saw Doc and another elf walk in. Neither one of them seemed to notice she was there, but she was mostly hidden behind a bookcase.

            “I hate to do this to you,” Doc said to the other elf, “but do you think you could help me pick up that slack on the Etch a Sketches?”

            Belle felt a pang in her chest. They were behind because of her.

            “No problem,” the other elf replied.

            Doc sighed. “I appreciate it. Belle is killing me. I have so many of the others working doubles because she can’t keep up.”

            Belle was on the verge of tears hearing that. Not only was she no good at her job, but she was making it so hard on the others. No wonder they thought poorly of her.

            “That was quick thinking yesterday,” Doc continued, “with that special talents thing.”

            The elf nodded. “I feel bad for the gal. She’s such a sweet thing, she loves Christmas, but it’s all too much for her, being human and all.”

            Human? Wait…what? Belle perked up. No…what? She hadn’t heard them correctly…she wasn’t human. She was an elf! What was he saying?

            “I just hope she doesn’t get wise…but if she hasn’t figured out she’s a human now, I don’t think she ever will.”

            The two elves exited then, chattering amongst themselves and leaving Belle alone again with nothing but her thoughts and a room full of jack-in-the-boxes.

            But Belle didn’t care about the jack-in-the-boxes anymore, she didn’t care about the toys, she didn’t care about Christmas. All she could think about was what she had just heard the two elves saying. Human. She was a human. Not an elf.

That explained so much-why she was so much bigger, why she wasn’t good at anything that elves were naturally good at, and why she was just completely different than every one else. She was a human.

            Her head to began to spin then and she began to panic and hyperventilate. This couldn’t be true. Even with all the evidence that proved it, she just didn’t want to believe it. She loved her life in the North Pole and to think it was all a lie was just too overwhelming.

            “I have to get out of here,” she said aloud as she suddenly stood up. The swift movement caused her to grab a hold of the chair to keep from falling as she began to feel dizzy and nauseous. But she couldn’t stay there another minute, so she made herself regain her composure and she rushed out of the workshop, fleeing all the way home as fast as she could.

            All these memories flashed in her mind as she trudged through the snow, ignoring anyone who tried to speak to her. All the times she went to the tailor to buy shoes or clothes-they were always too small and had to be altered. Whenever she was still in school and had to fight to get in and out of the tiny desks. How the other children would never play with her on the see saw because her weight would always throw them off…

            When she burst through the front door of her home, she was in a fit of tears. Grumpy was there, sitting in his chair in the living room, writing up plans for Christmas when he saw her. “Belle what the?” he started, having not expected her at all during this time of day. Certainly he did not expect her to come home like this. It was very rare she was so upset.

            Belle shot him a distraught glance, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she retreated to the bathroom where she hid and cried her eyes out, refusing to look up into the mirror and see how disproportioned she was compared to everything else.

            Grumpy rushed after her, but she had locked the door. “Belle!” He knocked a couple of times. “What’s wrong?”

            “I’m sorry, Papa…I just need to be alone right now…I don’t want to talk about it.”

            Grumpy had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had an idea what this might be about and he had dreaded this day for many many years. If Belle found out the truth, he knew she was bound to leave to find her real father and he didn’t want to lose her. Still, she deserved to know everything.

            Taking a deep breath, Grumpy worked up the courage to call out to her. “Belle…I think we need to talk. There’s something I need to tell you, something you should have found out a long time ago.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Once Belle was coaxed to come out and she had calmed down, I took her to the living room where she sat at my feet as I proceeded to tell her the full story. Now, I’m definitely not the best storyteller, we’ve already covered this before, but I did my best to fill her in on every little detail that I knew about her past.

I told her of her father, Maurice French, and how he had fallen in love when he was very young with a beautiful girl named Colette Bradbury. And how Belle was born and put up for adoption because her mother had tragically passed away.

I told her that her father had not even known Belle was born, but I didn’t know why Colette had chosen not to tell him. Most importantly though, I told Belle where her father was: in a magical land called New York City. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Belle strolled leisurely along through the snow as she walked through the nearby woods juts trying to center her thoughts and take in everything she just learned. In one hand she held a small snow globe her father-well adopted father-had given her, which housed a tiny replica of the very tall building in New York called the Empire State building. It was where he said her real father worked. 

In her other hand she had a folded up picture of both her real parents. Every once in a while she would glance at it to take in her parents appearances. The both were indeed very young. Her father was quite skinny with short, light brown hair and blue eyes. Her mother was breathtakingly beautiful with deep brown locks and blue eyes too. If Belle didn’t know any better, she would think she was looking at a picture of herself sitting under a tree with a book in her hand. Her mother must have liked to read too. And she liked to imagine her mother had been reading to her father when that picture was taken since she was holding a book. That would explain Belle’s own love for books. Oh how she wished she could meet her mother and find out. Maybe her father would know.

She shook the globe a few times and watched as the ‘snow’ fluttered down the extravagant building. She was at a loss for what to do now. Should she go find her father? Or should she stay in the North Pole and continue living the only life she had ever known? All her life she had wanted to go on adventures, but now that the opportunity had presented itself, she was terrified of what might lie ahead of her. And if she did leave, she would miss the only father she had ever known. But she could return couldn’t she?

“Hey, Belle want to pick some snow berries?” called a little penguin from the pond as she walked by. 

She shot the little creature a weak smile. “Not now, but thank you for the offer.”

The little penguin watched as she walked away, able to see how sad she was. 

Everyone could easily see that she was down, but Leon the snowman was the only one brave enough to go up and talk to her.

“Hello Belle,” he greeted as he waddled up next to her, sliding along in the snow as he tried to keep up with her pace. He held a cane in one hand and wore a set of protective sunglasses, along with a grey top hat and a matching blazer with a blue tie to top it off. 

“Hi, Leon,” Belle replied, barely able to smile at him. She did however, slow down a little so he could keep up. Since he was a snowman, he had no legs. 

“Why the long face, little lady?” Leon asked.

“Well,” Belle took a deep breath and didn’t look directly at the snowman, feeling ashamed. “I just found out that I’m not an elf…”

The snowman scoffed. “Course you’re not! You’re 5’1 and age faster than anyone else!”

Belle shot him a look, but she wasn’t angry. She was just disappointed in herself because everyone knew this except for her. “Papa says my real father lives in a magical place far away…and I don’t know if I should go find him or not.”

“At least you have a daddy,” the snowman joked, trying to cheer her up. “I was just rolled up one day and left out here in the cold.”

Belle actually smiled just a little, but she continued to express her woes since Leon was willing to listen. “I would like to meet my father, but you see the thing is, I’ve never left the North Pole. I’ve always dreamed of adventures, like the ones from my books-and I know this wouldn’t be exactly like those-but it would be a start. But I worry that maybe I should just stick to my books…”

“Belle, I’ve been all around the world many times when I was a young cumulonimbus cloud. It’s a wonderful place, filled with wondrous creatures…except dogs…Oh, by the way. Don’t eat the yellow snow.”

Belle giggled then, a genuine smile crossing her face. “I know that.”

The snowman sighed and looked at her seriously as they stood still. “All I’m sayin’ is, this might be the golden opportunity to find out whom you really are. To go on all those adventures you always dreamed of…to make your dreams come true…”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Leon’s advice ultimately helped Belle feel much more confident about making a decision. A few days later that decision of course was to go to New York, although I didn’t want her to. She was my little girl! I didn’t want to loose her, especially to another man who might not even want anything to do with her. Santa told me all about her real father and what he was like. I didn’t want her around him. 

However, she was determined and there was no changing her mind. But to avoid any surprises, I knew she needed to know the facts too. That’s why Santa invited her for a chat a couple of days before she was going to leave.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“So I hear you’re going on a little journey to the big city,” Santa commented. The two of them stood outside in the stables and Belle was helping him feed the reindeer as they chatted.

Belle took a deep breath and nodded. She petted Dancer on the head before allowing him to eat out of her hand. “I’m excited…but I’m also nervous. Leon says New York is very different…”

Santa threw his hands up to brush off Belle’s statement. “Ahh, don’t pay any attention to Leon. He’s never been anywhere. He doesn’t have any feet!” Santa turned to face her and stood up tall, looking proud. He twiddled with his suspenders. “I however, have been to New York thousands of times.”

Belle’s eyes brightened and she looked at him amazed, wanting to know everything. “What’s it like?”

“Well…there are some things you should know. First off-if you see gum on the street, leave it there. It’s not free candy. Oh-and there are like thirty Ray’s Pizzas. They all claim to be the original, but the real one’s on 11th.”

Belle nodded along to show she understood, but honestly she wasn’t following. Why would there be gum on the street if it wasn’t free? And what was pizza?

“And most importantly,” Santa looked at her in all seriousness, “if you see a sign that says ‘Peep Show,’ that doesn’t mean that they are letting you look at presents before Christmas.”

Belle was once again beginning to get nervous and it showed as she toyed with the fur on her dress. This was a lot to take in. “M…maybe you have a book I could read, that has all these rules in it?”

Santa thought for a moment. “I don’t know about that. Mrs. Claus may have one on New York history-we’ll have to ask her-but I don’t know how much that will help you.”

“It’s alright,” Belle said. She smiled brighter then, trying not to concentrate on her fears, instead wanting to focus on the good that would be coming out of this trip. “I’m mostly excited about meeting my father. I can’t wait to see him! We’re going to go ice skating and eat sugar plums…and hopefully he likes books so I can read to him every night!”

Santa’s smile faltered just then and he cleared his throat. “Belle…that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

Belle’s smile disappeared then because she could immediately sense that something was wrong. “Santa, what is it?”

He cleared his throat again and looked down at his big black boots. “Your father…well you see…you know…uh…many years ago he became business partners with a man who’s not well liked by most, but was still a very successful business man. And when he did-when your father became partner’s with this uh Mr. Gold…” Santa hesitiated. It was clear he was stalling. 

“Please, what is it?” Belle begged to know.

Santa turned to look up at Belle with a sympathetic smile. “Well, ever since then I’ve had to place your father on the naughty list.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: As this story goes on, please feel free to prompt me and I'll see if I can work it it :)


	4. Chapter 4

            “You’re taking the books back?” Mother Superior sat across from Maurice French in his office on the fifty-second floor of the Empire State Building terrified that she had heard him correctly. Her reddish brown hair was slicked back into a bun and she wore her nun robes just as she always did. Despite being so worried, there was still a sleek and sophisticated look about her; she didn’t appear to be just an everyday nun. That afternoon she had been invited to meet with Mr. French in regards to the convent’s account with his publishing company.

            She looked at the man appalled and with stern eyes that also reflected a hint of despair. She could not believe this. He couldn’t be serious.

            Maurice sat up tall behind his oversized black desk, the grand city of New York looming through the large window behind him as his face showed no emotion. He was a quite heavyset man with graying brown hair and tired eyes. His face was full of wrinkles, a characteristic caused by many years working in his field of expertise.

            “You’re four months behind on your payments,” Maurice replied, unwilling to give in.

            “But the children love the books. We could make alternate arrangements.” Mother Superior looked hopeful.

            Maurice shook his head and wagged a finger at her. “Now we have tried making arrangements in the past and we always end up right back where we started. You will return every book or I will be forced to take this to court.”

            Mother Superior leaned forward in her chair. “It’s almost Christmas…please can’t you find it in your heart to give us more time? My girls will find the money. We’ve arranged a sale-selling candles-if you could be willing to give us two more weeks…”

            “Bah!” Maurice scoffed, but it was clear he might be amiable to the idea. Still, he wasn’t finished putting up a fight. “I see what you’re trying to do here. You’re trying to make me feel bad when it’s your fault you missed the payments.”

            Mother Superior was about to open her mouth to retort when another man interrupted her as he stepped into the room. He was a short, but a slim older man, with grayish brown shoulder length hair and dark brown eyes. His black pinstriped suit was much fancier than the one Maurice was wearing and it made him look all the more intimidating. His face was also adorned with wrinkles, but instead of making him look older, it added to the threatening appearance while also giving him a rugged handsomeness.

            “Now now, there’ll be none of that…throwing guilt in the wrong direction.” he stated, directing his statement to the nun as he moved where he could face her. With his hands clasped in front of him, he stood there looming above her with this very slight hint of a menacing smile on his face.

            As soon as Mother Superior saw who was addressing her she was instantly on her feet to try to size herself up to him. Her facial expressions went fierce and one would have thought the room was on fire to be in there with the pair. “Gold! You! I know this is all your doing! You want this to happen! You are jumping at this chance to hurt the children just to get at me!”

            Gold didn’t flinch at all or barely move as the nun shot accusations at him. The menacing smile did not leave his face. “I can assure you I’m doing nothing of the sort. This is simply a matter of payment.” He held one hand out as he spoke in a way to show it was nothing more, when it really was.

            Mother Superior saw straight through his façade. “A matter of payment? Well you will have your payment and your books too! Our convent will not associate with you any more. Either of you. We will find someone else to do business with, someone who cares!” She glanced between both men firmly. “Good day gentlemen!” And with that she stormed out of the office with no intention of ever returning.

            As soon as he was sure the woman was gone, Gold looked over at Maurice and smiled a genuine smile. “Well, that took care of that.”

            Maurice chuckled and shook his head as he stood to his feet, straightening a stack of papers on his desk. “I never understood the rivalry you have with that woman.”

            Gold shrugged his shoulders. “I just don’t like nuns. It’s as simple as that.”

            “Yes, and one day you’ll have to tell me why, but right now,” Maurice paused, glancing down at his watch. “I’ve got a plane to catch.”

            “Ah yes, you’re trip to London with your family,” Gold noted, stepping aside so Maurice could collect his belongings and leave.

“Yes, my wife has been looking forward to this all year. You know…you should take a trip…next year-surprise Neal.”

            “Ah, no-I’ve never been much for traveling-plus there’s too much going on here. I’ve more important things to do.”

            Maurice nodded, knowing his business partner always put work ahead of family. It bothered him a little, but he never said anything. For one, he knew he wouldn’t be able to change Gold’s mind. And two-he was guilty of doing the same plenty of times as well. This trip to London he had attempted many times in the past, but it wasn’t until his wife threatened to leave him that he began taking spending time with her and their teenage son seriously.

            “Well I know the company will be in good hands while I’m gone.” He patted Gold on the shoulder. “But if you need anything, you know how to get me.”

            “Yes, of course,” Gold agreed. “Enjoy yourself. They’ll be plenty to do when you return.”

            “Yes, and hopefully no surprises.”

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            Now Belle did not take the news of her father being on the naughty list very well. She was hysterical the rest of that day and not even her favorite book or chocolate chip cookies would cheer her up. However, Belle has always been a very positive person so she still decided it was best to go to New York. Her heart was set on it. And if that didn’t make her stay I knew nothing would. So with a heavy heart I found myself having to say goodbye to her…

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            Belle stood with her father at the waters edge of the North Pole ready to set off on her adventure. Still she looked at Grumpy with a heavy heart. This was more difficult than she thought.

            “You know ehhh…” Grumpy scratched the back of his neck nervously and removed his elf hat, revealing a bald head. “I’ve never been that good at goodbyes…”

            Belle reached out to touch her father’s shoulder and she smiled. “Hey, Papa…this isn’t goodbye forever…I just don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

            “I know…I’m just gonna miss you and the house will be so lonely. And who’s going to read to me every night?”

            “Oh Papa…I left you a copy of my favorite book. You can read it every night until I come back. And when I return I’ll have some new stories to tell…something for you to look forward too.” Belle then stepped forward and drew her father into her arms for a tight hug. “I love you, Papa, but I have to do this.”

            Grumpy hugged his daughter in return, refusing to let his tears fall-although one or two did escape.

            When they pulled apart, Belle looked at him sadly. “I just hope…well…you know…” She was referring to her real father being on the naughty list. It still wasn’t clear to her how she would handle that.

            Grumpy sighed, but he managed a smile for his daughter. “Listen, some people-they just lose sight of what’s important in life-I know I would have if you hadn’t snuck into Santa’s pack…”

            Belle brightened hearing that. She knew that her father had had a rough time before she came into his life. It made her feel a little guilty for leaving and she only hoped he wouldn’t spiral back down to that dark place.

            “I found my way again…” Grumpy continued. “…so maybe your father can too. Maybe all he needs is just a little Christmas spirit.”

            The smile on Belle’s face grew just a little more. “I…I’m good at that.”

            “I know you are.”

            Belle took a deep breath and glanced down at her little pink elf shoes. “I’ll miss you, Papa…”

            “I’ll miss you too.” He reached out and touched her chin lightly, influencing her to look up at him. “And I’ll always be here for you.”

            They stared at each other for a long quiet minute-a loving and emotional moment between father and daughter, something that Grumpy could only handle so much of. “Now go…get,” he said, shooing her off playfully.

            Belle giggled and stepped away onto the ice platform that would take her across the water to the mainland. “Bye, Papa!” She waved at him. “Bye, guys!” She waved at all the North Pole creatures that had joined them for her farewell. They included the puffins, seals, and polar bears. If any of the other elves had come-or even Santa-Grumpy knew he would have never been able to say what he needed to say. It was hard enough to do so in front of the animals, but he really didn’t care…that much.

            “Bye Belle…bye,” all the animals called as the ice platform broke free and she began to float away. “Take care! We hope you find your dad!”

            Belle smiled radiantly at everyone as they grew smaller and smaller the further away she went. Just before her father was completely out of sight, she blew him one last kiss before turning to face everything head on that was ahead of her.

            Grumpy stayed at the edge of the water until he could no longer see Belle. When he turned around to leave, he saw all the animals just sitting and staring at him. He grimaced before he growled, not happy they saw the tears on his face. “Don’t you have some berries to pick? Get on! All ‘a you!”


	5. Chapter 5

            The journey for Belle was a long one. It wasn’t like she had Santa’s sleigh and reindeer so she had to walk most of the way. Still there was a bit of Christmas magic on her side. After crossing the waters, she traveled through the seven levels of the candy cane forest-which was exactly what it sounded like: a forest of nothing but giant candy canes. Next, she passed the sea of twirly whirly gum drops-which I personally cannot stand to visit-it’s nothing but a sticky mess. But I could imagine my Belle loved every second of those lands, sampling all the sweets as she went along.

            Finally she came through the Lincoln Tunnel and found her self in what she thought of as the magical city of New York…

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            Standing there in the middle Time’s Square, Belle knew she could never be convinced otherwise that this city had true magic. These humongous screens surrounded her with moving pictures on them that were so huge the people looked like giant monsters. They spanned all the buildings and were so tall, she craned her neck as she gawked at them. It was all so much to take in-the lights, the buildings, McDonald’s, The Disney Store, the noise, the smells, both good and bad, and all the people. What were these places? And why were there so many people? Where did they come from and why did they all seem to be in such a hurry to get places?

            And they were all so much taller than her-most of them any way. For the first time she actually felt like she could live up to the heights of an elf. It was…strange yet enthralling.

            Walking around she thought nothing of how she gawked at everyone and she certainly didn’t notice all the weird stares she was getting. Belle continuously said hello to everyone she came across, yet only very few said it back. It didn’t bother her though. She was just trying to spread cheer.

            There was so much to do, so much to see, but she had to remain focused on finding the Empire State Building so she could find her father. On the walk, though, she let herself indulge a little bit. This world was very new to her and she wanted to know everything about it. She glanced down the tunnels, looked in the windows, gazed at the decorations. When she found gum on the pole to the subway, she completely forgot about Santa’s warning and ate it…and then ate another…and another. It tasted so good; she didn’t understand why Santa had had reservations.

            When she passed by a shop that sported a sign that read ‘World’s Best Cup of Coffee,’ she burst through the door to call out her congrats only to receive more strange looks in return. But it didn’t faze her; in fact she barely took notice. Humans were new creatures to her and this was just how she assumed they acted.

            It wasn’t long before she finally found herself on Fifth Avenue standing outside the doors of the one hundred and two story building. Belle was frozen in place as she strained to see the top of the enormous thing. It was just miraculous that such a thing existed. Why did humans need such tall buildings?

            The lobby was hustling and bustling with people, both tourists and business folk. A giant metal sign, which read ‘The Empire State Building,’ hung on the wall at the end of the long hallway behind the reception desk and there was a relatively large tree next to it adorned with white lights and ornaments.

            Belle couldn’t stop herself from walking over to get a closer look and even daring to reach out to touch one of the sparkling balls, but no one seemed to care. If any one was staring at her, it was because of her ridiculous bright pink outfit that stood out like a sore thumb.

            After talking to the receptionist and being directed to the fifty-second floor, Belle made her way into a contraption that was apparently called an elevator. A blonde headed man stepped in right behind her as she was staring at all the buttons with numbers on it. He didn’t say anything to her, barely acknowledged her, even when she happily greeted him. Instead he just pushed the button for the seventy first floor and stood waiting for the doors to close.

            Belle’s eyes widened when she saw how the button lit up when it was touched. Cautiously she reached out to touch another to see if it would do the same. It did. She gasped. Then she touched another. Again it lit up. She beamed happily and just like a child she ran her hands over all the buttons, lighting every single one of them up making it look like a Christmas tree.

            The man beside her remained quiet, but he did not look pleased. And as they rode the elevator up and stopped on every single floor, he still did not say one word. Belle just practically squealed happily after the door opened and closed every time.

            When they finally came to the floor Belle was supposed to get off, she looked at the man. “Sorry I can’t ride with you the rest of the way up-my father works on this floor.” She stepped out and the doors began to close. “Wait! I forgot to wish you a…” The doors were closed and she sighed. “Merry Christmas,” she finished, even though there was no point.

            “I don’t know Mary Margaret…he has me working late again. You may have to take Emma to her recital alone.” Gold and Maurice’s assistant was sitting at the desk in front of the office having a private conversation. He was a young man in his late twenties or early thirties. He had blue eyes and short dirty blonde hair that whisked across his forehead in a fancy manner that gave him a quaint and charming appearance.

            “Oh, hey Mary, I gotta go. I’ll call you soon…ok…bye…ok…I love you.” He hung up the phone and smiled up at Belle who was patiently waiting for him to finish. And his smile only grew into a goofy grin as he got a look at Belle in her pink frock with matching pointy hat and the shoes that alerted him that she was coming because they jingled every time she took a step. “Well look at you…Christmas isn’t for a few weeks. What’s the occasion?”

            “No occasion-I’m a Christmas elf,” Belle told him. “My name is Belle.”

            The assistant laughed, thinking this was a joke, but decided to play along, assuming it was one of those performers one paid to act out or sing.   “Well a beautiful Christmas elf indeed. Who sent you?”

            “Papa elf-from the North Pole.”

            “The North Pole? Wow you’ve come along way.”

            Belle nodded happily clasping her hands in front of her as she swung back and forth on her heels. “I did.”

            The assistant nodded, clearly loving this. “Yes, well you must be here to see Mr. French and Mr. Gold…well one is out of town, but the other…” He stood his feet and glanced near Maurice’s office where Gold was having a meeting because his office was being cleaned. “…he’s in a meeting…but let me see if you can go in…”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

            “A reprint?” Gold sat at Maurice’s desk glaring at his two employees, Whale and Jefferson, two very eccentric men who didn’t seem to fit in the children’s books publishing world. Gold was furious and both men looked frightened. “What do you mean a reprint? Are you really so ignorant that you don’t know how much that would cost?”

            “Two whole pages are missing,” Jefferson argued. He was the one dressed in a dark canvas coat and normally wore a top hat on his head, but that moment it sat in his lap.

            The very blonde and pale man chimed in too to back up his coworker. “The story doesn’t make any sense.”

            “And you think some kid’s gonna notice two pages?” Gold asked in a challenging manner. His hands were clasped into fists. “All they do is look at pictures!”

            Both men shot a glance at each other, one that told they other they both knew they weren’t going to win this. Jefferson spoke up. “So you really think we should ship them?”

            “No I think we should take a thirty thousand dollar bath so some kid can understand what happened to a puppy and a blasted pigeon!” He slammed the child’s book down on his desk, the one they had been discussing. “Unless you two fine gentleman would like me to deduct it from your salary instead?”

            Silence.

            “No? Didn’t think so!” Gold practically growled at them, showing his teeth. “SO SHIP THEM!”

            The intercom buzzed then and he managed to calm and focus his attentions toward it. “Yes, David?”

            “Sir, I believe someone has sent you a Christmas gram,” David’s said, ringing through clear as a bell.

            Gold cocked an eyebrow. Who would do such a thing? A client perhaps? Someone behind on his or her bill? They should be spending their money on trying to catch up instead of trying to butter him up. He sighed. Perhaps he could at least get a good laugh if only for a minute. “Alright send whomever in,” he agreed, wanting to get it over with and also wanting an excuse not to deal with these two idiots anymore.

            He stood politely as Belle walked in the room, so quaint and shy at first, but when he saw her he was nearly knocked off his feet because of her beauty. Rarely did he pay much attention to women, not wanting to have that kind of complication in his life, but he couldn’t deny this woman was strikingly gorgeous-even if she was dressed as an elf. And it wasn’t just him because Jefferson and Whale were both staring lustfully as well.

            She didn’t seem to notice though, but she did seem nervous, and reserved. “Hi,” she said meekly with a bashful smile. Now that Belle was in the room with her real father for the first time she was at a lost for words. He didn’t look much like she expected, a good bit different from the photograph, but it had been close to thirty years. And she was sure it was him-he was the right age and she could see his name, Maurice French was on the desk. And he was almost as short as her-they had to be related. Almost all these humans towered over her, so the pieces certainly fit together.

            “Well?” Gold encouraged when she wasn’t saying anything.

            Belle looked around nervously and assumed he wanted her to explain herself. “Well…I walked all day and night to find you…”

            Gold tilted his head curiously. This act wasn’t very good, but he played along nonetheless. “You look like you came from the North Pole.”

            Belle brightened then, some of her reservations fading. “That’s exactly where I came from! Santa must’ve called you!”

            Gold chuckled and so did Jefferson and Whale. “Yes…I just…eh got off the cell with him.” He pointed to his phone lying on the desk.

            Belle beamed even more and took a step toward her supposed father. “You did?!”

            Gold was getting tired of this. “Well, go on then…”

            Now Belle looked confused. “Go on?” Did he want her to leave? But she only just got there!

            “Yes, don’t you sing a song or something? Or can I just go back to work?”

            “Oh..uh…” Belle began to fiddle with her skirts again just as she always did when she was nervous or distraught. “A song?” She hadn’t prepared anything, but if her father wanted her to sing then she supposed she could oblige.

            Clearing her throat, she tried to put on her best singing voice, which normally was very melodic and mesmerizing, but she was so nervous that it came out broken and choppy while she made up lyrics. “I…I’m…I’m here with my father…whom I never met…and he wants me to sing…um…” She was really struggling. “I was adopted…but you didn’t know I was born…but now I have found you father…” Her singing voice practically disappeared as she looked at Gold with all seriousness. “I’m so happy I found you father…I love you…”


	6. Chapter 6

            “You’re my father,” Belle repeated again because the whole room had gone completely silent and no one would break it. Perhaps she didn’t think ‘Maurice’ had heard her; she did have a soft voice.

            But Gold was not silent because he was surprised or because he couldn’t think of anything to say. He was silent because he was infuriated and he was trying not to explode with anger.

            Either someone was trying to pull a practical joke on him or this woman was mentally crazy. If she was then he certainly needed to have a talk with David about whom he let in this office. There was no possible way he could have an illegitimate daughter, especially one of this woman’s age, who he guessed to be around her mid twenties.

            Gold cleared his throat and managed to keep his calm and cool, yet intimidating composure. “Yes, well…you certainly are mistaken young lady. Now if you would kindly see yourself out, I have better things to waste my time on.”

            “No, please,” Belle took a step forward toward Gold. “I _am_ your daughter. My name’s Belle. Colette Bradbury is my mother. She had me and didn’t tell you and she died and now I’m here…”

            “Colette Bradbury?” Gold repeated. If there was any chance this woman, this Belle, could have been his daughter, he knew it was completely gone now. He had never heard that name before in his life.

            Belle nodded and replied, “Yes.”

Gold just grimaced at her and called for David furiously. “David, who sent this Christmas-gram?” Whoever it was was certainly going to have to deal with his wrath now. He was not amused and no one made a fool of Mr. Gold. And at least if they were going to try they should at least have done their research.

“I…I don’t know, sir,” David stuttered from the doorway.

“Oh, what’s a Christmas-gram?!” Belle exclaimed excitedly. “I want one!”

Everyone in the room cocked an eyebrow at Belle, unable to understand what was wrong with her.

“I think we should call security,” Whale said as he stood up and leaned over to whisper to Gold.

“You think?” Gold snapped at him, making Whale jump and run to do as he was told.

Minutes later Belle was being dragged out of the front door of the Empire State Building, confused and not understanding what she had done wrong.

“It’s okay…please…that’s my father,” Belle told the two security guards to try and get them to stop and let her go back upstairs.

“Well your father’s busy right now,” one of them said sarcastically as he helped the other get Belle out on the street so they could release her.

“Oh,” Belle said as she regained her balance and brushed herself off. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know. I can come back later, then.”

“No you’re not gonna come back for a while you know,” said the other guard. “You’re gonna go back to Santaland!” Both guards chuckled.

Belle tilted her head, unsure of what they meant. Were they talking about the North Pole? She couldn’t go back there until she had spent time with her father.

“Yeah why don’t you go back to Macy’s?” With that last statement the guards retreated back inside, staying by the door to ensure Belle did not try to come back in.

“Macy’s?” Belle had never heard of this place, but that had to be where this Santa Land was they spoke of. It sounded like a thrilling place to go and she wanted to see what it was like. Hopefully it wasn’t far away.

And luckily it wasn’t. With the help of a passerby, Belle managed to find her way to the giant department store. And since all buildings had their names on it in huge letters, she definitely didn’t miss it. She did however, miss the beautiful window displays because she went in the back entrance, but there was plenty more to keep her occupied inside the store.

Just like everything else, she had never seen such a place. It was full of all sorts of things. Several floors were just clothes, one floor was all shoes, another was purses and makeup, and there was even a home décor floor. All the things looked strange too. It didn’t look anything like the stuff in the North Pole. It was much less colorful, except the few Christmas items she found for sale. But human clothes were funny and their shoes didn’t have any sort of noise maker.

But despite how strange everything was she was ecstatic to find it was all in _her size._ Nothing was tiny-the stalls in the bathroom were just right, the sinks she could reach without bending over, the chairs she could sit in without having to squeeze in, and the doors she could fit through without ducking.

And oh how beautiful the decorations were inside the store. On one floor it looked like snow was coming down from the ceiling and another was covered in giant ornaments and lights.

And speaking of different floors, she encountered yet some other contraption that she hadn’t before. At her father’s work she had used the elevator to change floors, but here…there were these strange moving stair things. And they were moving pretty fast. She wasn’t exactly sure how to use them, but as she watched other shoppers, she noticed they just walked up to them, stepped on, and let them carry them all the way up to the top where they stepped off. It looked easy enough.

Confident she could to do it, she decided to try, but the first few times she kept backing out, stumbling into others behind her as they tried to follow her onto the escalator.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” she kept saying as she let them pass her, wanting to take her time with this, but people just kept coming.

Some shrugged her off, others laughed, and then there were the few that got agitated. Finally a few saw her struggles and refused to go until she went herself.

            “Please, go ahead,” said one man as he motioned toward the steps.

            Belle looked at him unsure and then over at the moving stairs. “Oh…uh…okay…” She could do this. She was sure. She had stalled long enough.

            Cautiously she made her way to where the edge of the stairs began rolling, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, counted to three and then jumped onto the first step…

            Her eyes popped open as soon as her feet landed on the metal ground and she wobbled a bit, but caught her balance. She squealed happily. “I did it!” she exclaimed as she threw her hands up in the air, which she instantly regretted. That action caused her to fall backwards, but she didn’t go rolling down the escalator. Instead, she landed on her bum on a higher step as she neared the top and her petticoats got caught between the teeth of the steps as they straightened out. “Oh my…oh no...this is not good,” she mumbled as she pulled at the tulle, trying not to rip it. The escalator did that for her though, pulling out the one under layer of the skirt, but not enough to ruin the look of her dress. She rolled sideways as she broke free at the top, but stumbled to her feet.

            Instead of being discouraged though, she was proud! She had mastered the moving stairs, which apparently liked to eat clothes. She preferred the elevator, but at least she had done it.

            Wondering around through the store a little more, she found a lingerie section-which of course she had no idea what lingerie was-but she was drawn to the little Christmas nighties. The one that caught her eye was a short red silk slip adorned with white fur just like Santa’s coat that hung under a sign, which read ‘For that Special Someone.’

            Standing there she rubbed her hand along the fabric. It certainly felt nice and smooth…she bet her father would like it. The sign did say for that special someone and he was special to her. Yes, she was going to get him this present, wrap it, and take it to him, along with the picture of him and her mother when they were young.

            “Hey you!” called a voice, causing Belle to look up and see an older woman dressed in bright red dress glaring at her over the rim of her glasses. The woman resembled Mrs. Claus, as did her clothing-and if Belle had seen her from afar she would have thought it was Santa’s wife, but this woman was just too sour.

            “Me?” she asked, not certain she was talking to her.

            “Yes you,” the woman said, clearly irritated. She came over to Belle and grabbed the skimpy lingerie from Belle and began shooing her toward an employee door in the back. “What are you doing down here? You’re not supposed to be down here. You can shop on your break! Come on, get upstairs!”

            Belle obliged. “Oh…I’m sorry…I didn’t know…”

            “Well you should have known. I swear my grand daughter must be rubbing off on you like everyone else here, now go.”

            Belle picked up her pace. “Are you mad at me?” She didn’t want anyone to be mad at her, but it seemed this woman was, but it also seemed as if she was mad at everything.

            “No.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Yes, I’m sure, now get back to work!” She ushered Belle through the door, up the stairs and through another door and when Belle stepped out onto the new floor she gasped in awe.

            This floor was filled with toys and decorated modestly with fake snow and garland. What was different about this floor though was the rather large Christmas tree that sat in the middle of the room with a large red chair underneath it.

            The tree was decorated with a few ball ornaments and colored lights. It definitely could use something more, but it was still wonderful in Belle’s eyes.

            “What is this place?” Belle asked the older woman.

            “This? This is the North Pole.”


	7. Chapter 7

            “The North Pole?” Belle scoffed playfully at the woman. “No this isn’t the North Pole.”

‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ played over the intercom and there were plenty of toys for sure, but no this was definitely not the North Pole. For one it was in a department store and not _in_ the North Pole. But that was just one of the reasons. Belle grew up in the North Pole; she knew her home.

            “Yes it is,” the woman replied, growing more agitated by the second.

            “No it’s not,” Belle argued with a big smile on her face.

            The woman tilted her head and peered over at Belle through the rim of her glasses, something that was beginning to be very characteristic of her personality. “Yes it is and if I hear one more word about it I’m sticking you back in quality assurance.”

            Quality assurance? Belle knew what that meant-memories of jack-in-the-boxes flooded her mind. She straightened up and nodded her head. “Yes, ma’am. I won’t do it again.” It wasn’t the North Pole, but she could play along at least; she liked to play.

            “Good.” The woman replied, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Now get back to work.”

            “Yes, of course,” Belle agreed, rushing off to do as she was told, although she honestly had no idea what the woman wanted her to do. She didn’t see anything to make toys with. All of them were already boxed and ready to go. And the decorations all seemed to be hung.

            It was then that she spotted another woman on a ladder straitening the star on top of the tree. This woman was much younger than the lady who had ushered Belle around. She had long dark brown hair with red streaks, ruby red lips, green eyes and the best part: she was dressed just like an elf! She had on a green dress with matching hat and shoes all adorned with bells and trimmed in red. She must like red, Belle presumed.

            Belle ran over to her and smiled brightly up at the woman. “Hi,” she greeted.

            The lady glanced down and gave a halfhearted smile and said hello in return, but went back to work, saying nothing else.

            Belle just stood there waiting for her to climb down the ladder and when she did she received another strange look from the girl. “Can I help you?” she asked.

            Belle shook her head and continued to smile big. “No. I just wanted to tell you you are very good at decorating that tree.”

            The lady nodded. “Okay…thanks, I guess.”

            “And it’s nice to meet another human being that shares my affinity for elf culture…”

            This time she chuckled in a sarcastic manner. “Elf culture? No, I’m just trying to get through the holidays.”

            “Get through? Why would you want to do that? Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!”

            “No it’s not, now please…whoever you are…just let me do my job.”

            “My name is Belle. What’s yours?”

            The woman looked at her, hesitating for a second. “Ruby…now if we don’t get back to work Granny is going to get on to both of us.”

            “Oh we wouldn’t want that…” Belle was genuinely concerned. Granny already was angry with her.

            “Attention everybody,” Granny called, stepping up to the front of the tree where all the shoppers could see her. “It’s time for the announcement.”

            Belle and Ruby both turned to listen along with all the others in the store. “Ten am tomorrow, Santa Claus is coming to town!”

            Belle nearly tripped over herself. “Santa!” she exclaimed drawing all the attention to her. “Oh my goodness…Santa here?” It had only been a few days since she had seen him, but that didn’t matter at all. She loved the jolly old man. Looking over at Ruby as Granny continued, Belle whispered, “I know him.”

            Ruby just darted her eyes, furrowing her brow, completely unsure of what to think or say to this woman.            

            “He’ll be here to take pictures, now go ahead and make your final purchases, we’ll be closing in ten minutes…”

            “Well at least it’s time for us to go home,” Ruby said, relieved.

            “Home? But Santa’s coming…there’s so much to do…”

            Again, Belle received another strange look from the woman with red in her hair. “Um…yeah…sure…I’ll see you tomorrow.” She did not sound thrilled.

            “Oh ok.” Belle was disappointed she wouldn’t have any help, but she didn’t mind. Santa was coming and she couldn’t wait to tell him about meeting her father for the first time!

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            When all was quiet and the store was completely shut down for the night, Belle snuck out of her little hiding place she had found in the dressing room, having known they would have made her leave until morning. She normally would oblige, but if she was going to have everything ready for Santa she had to have more time than just an hour or two.

            So as soon as she was alone she set to work, trudging straight on through morning without even taking a nap.

            Managing to finish early, she decided she would take her father’s gift, the slinky little negligee, to her father before Macy’s opened. However, since her clothing stood out, as soon as she arrived at the Empire State Building the security guards instantly recognized her and escorted her back outside, even though Belle pleaded with them, telling them she only wanted to deliver the gift. The guards eventually gave in, agreeing to hand it over themselves as long as she left. She had no qualms with that, feeling that she was leaving her present in good hands before she returned to the department store to eagerly wait for Santa’s arrival.

            Other employees had already arrived and were busy setting up for the day. But Belle was more interested in finding Granny and Ruby, wanting them to see what a good job she had done. Surely they couldn’t be mad at her after this.

When Granny stepped foot onto the toy floor, she dropped her purse and stood gawking at the place she now didn’t recognize. Ruby came up behind her, almost knocking her over as they stopped. “Granny? What the….”

            The room had been completely transformed. Belle had found white stuffing and placed fake snow everywhere. She took paper and cut out strands of snowflakes and garland, stringing them everywhere. She opened white Christmas lights and hung them from the ceiling, giving the place a truly beautiful glow. She had rearranged some of the toy displays to make them more enticing, putting together some of the models for the kids and drawing out elaborate pictures on the Etch-a-Sketches. She had sprinkled glitter all over the floor and counters just to make it glisten a little bit more. Now it felt like the North Pole to her, even though it wasn’t the real one.

            “Who did this?” Ruby asked her grandmother.

            “Haven’t the foggest,” Granny replied. She looked at her daughter in all seriousness. “But this is good, too good. I think someone may be gunning for my job. So we need to stick together-work harder than before. Now get behind that counter and start making ribbons. Stop goofing off and be cheery.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

            Belle managed to make it back from her errand just in time for Santa’s introduction. She stood out in the crowd, standing with all the other children who were just as excited as she. ‘A Marshmallow World’ by Brenda Lee, played now, which matched perfectly with how Belle had decorated.

            “HO HO HO!” sounded the deepest and jolliest voice as ‘Santa’ finally stepped out from behind the curtain. “Hey kids! Merry Christmas!”

            All the children began to cheer happily, but no one was screaming louder than Belle. “Santa, Santa!” She tried to get his attention. “It’s me…It’s Belle!”

            The Santa glanced over in her direction; he smiled through his beard, which didn’t look right. “Hello, Belle. How you doing?” He then went back to greeting the other children.

            Belle instantly sensed something was wrong, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Santa was acting strange and he looked strange too. He wasn’t quite as big as she remembered and there was definitely something wrong with his beard and his suit. It looked…cheap. She went a little bit closer to get a better view as one of the other employees was helping a little boy up onto ‘Santa’s’ lap.

            She squinted her eyes until she finally got a good look at his face. She gasped. That wasn’t Santa! She stepped up right next to the man, not having to bend down too far to speak to him because she was so short. “Who are you?” she asked, not thinking anything about the child in his lap.

            The Santa looked up at her confused. “Why Santa Claus of course!”

            Belle shook her head. She was feeling very upset. Why would someone pretend to be Santa? “No you’re not. I know Santa and you’re not him.”

            The Santa looked at the boy nervously, not wanting to upset him and then glanced back up at Belle. “Why of course I am!” he insisted.

            Belle was certainly not convinced. “Then if you’re Santa what song did I sing you for your birthday last year?”

            The Santa seemed stumped for a moment, but he managed to answer with what anyone might answer. “Why Happy Birthday of course!”

            Belle sighed heavily and straightened back up, clearly upset that he had known the right answer.

            The Santa tried to ignore her and went to ask the boy his age and what he wanted for Christmas. Belle moved closer to the child. “Don’t tell him,” she said, causing confusion in the little four year old. “He’s not who you think he is.”

            “Hey,” said the Santa, clearly agitated. “Let the kid talk.”

            Belle glared at the fake Santa. “I don’t understand how you live with yourself sir. How could you trick children like this?”

            “You need to cool it.” The Santa was getting worked up and angry and it was beginning to show.

            “No you’re a fake and everyone needs to know that. I can’t allow this to go on.”

            Santa let the kid down so he could turn to face Belle completely. “Listen lady, you’re really getting on my nerves, calling me a fake and all.”

            “But you are a fake.” She didn’t understand why he was denying this. “You don’t even smell like Santa…you smell like beef and cheese…”

            The Santa took a deep breath. “Look I don’t want to hit a woman so you need to leave.”

            “No you need to leave, you’re the imposter! A big beefy imposter!”

            “Okay that it,” the Santa threw himself from the chair, lunging toward Belle. All the children began to scream and so did Belle as he attacked her.

           


	8. Chapter 8

 

            “For someone special…” Gold read the note on the pretty little card tied to the Christmas gift that had been sent up to his office that afternoon. It was very odd…no one ever sent him a gift and he was very skeptical…especially since the outside didn’t say whom it was from.

His best guess was from a client who was behind of their payments, other than that he had no idea. But someone special usually meant a lover or a crush and he had neither and knew no one who felt the same towards him. Most people despised him and he preferred it that way. His son Neal was the only person that mattered in his life and he wanted to keep it that way.

            Slipping off the shiny red ribbon, he pulled open the box to find out what was inside. It was a garment-a red one from what he could see through the tissue paper it was wrapped in. Tearing the paper he picked up the clothing and stared at the contents in horror…and with a little bit of confusion. It was a Christmas themed nightgown, a very sexy nightgown with matching thong, clearly meant for a woman, not a man.

Who the hell sent him this? Was this a joke or was it a woman trying to seduce him? He was about to call for his assistant when a card slipped out from between the fabric and landed on the table.

Sitting the lingerie down he picked up the card and opened it and his questions were answered. There on the front of the card it read, ‘For my father, someone special. Love, Belle. Merry Christmas.’

Belle-that girl that had been in the day before insisting she was his daughter. Of course it was she. She probably wanted money, but the way she was going about it was sick, not that he would give it to her under any other circumstances. She was mad! Who would send their father sexy lingerie? Something was not right with this woman and something in the pit of his stomach was also telling him he wasn’t going to get rid of her so easily. But she wasn’t his daughter! There were no doubts in his mind.

His tossed the card aside furiously, not knowing how to handle such a strange situation. Of course, he might not have to-security knew to keep her away, but what if she began to stalk him outside of work?

Then, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he looked over to see there was also a picture inside of the card. Reaching over, he pulled it out to take a good look at it. It was a picture of a couple, a couple he didn’t recognize at first sitting under a tree. The woman was reading to the man and she looked an awful lot like this Belle. This had to be her parents and if it was, then for certain that man in the picture was not him, not even close. It was someone else…it was…it was Maurice French! A young Maurice French. At first glance he hadn’t noticed, but now with closer examination he was sure.

He grunted frustratingly. Maurice, that bastard. He was the one who had tried to pull some kind of prank on him and this had to be his way of rubbing it in his face. Well no one…not even his business partner, made a fool of Adam Gold. Nobody.

“What’s that?” David said as he strolled into the room, noticing the lingerie on Gold’s desk. Did his boss finally have a girlfriend?

“Get out!” Gold instantly barked, causing David to flee. Gold hesitated then, staring at the picture of his partner. “Wait…”

David popped his head back in the room. “Yes?”

“Get Maurice French on the phone, NOW.”

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            “Gold? What’s going on? Is something wrong?” Maurice’s voice rang clear through the other side of the phone as Gold tried to remain cool and not start out by yelling at him incoherently. He did deserve the chance to explain himself.

            “You best believe something is wrong. I received your little ‘Christmas gram’ yesterday and I have to say I do not appreciate it.”

            “Christmas gram?” Maurice sounded genuinely confused.

            “The young woman you sent here to pretend to be my daughter…that was a sick prank you tried to pull on me and you know I don’t take kindly to practical jokers, even if we are good friends.” Well…the closest to a friend Gold would ever call anybody.

            “Gold, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Now stop this nonsense so I can get back to my family.”

“No I will not let this stand!” Gold objected. “This woman comes in my office dressed as an elf babbling about being the daughter of me and some woman named Colette Bradbury, then I receive a package from the woman with a picture of you and her mother…”

Maurice cut Gold off then. “Wait, Gold…what did you say?”

Gold was getting more upset by the second. “You had her send me a ridiculous package, which was clearly a joke…”

“No, the name…what did she say was the name of her mother?”

“She said Colette Bradbury, a name I never heard in my life. At least if you were going to try this you should have done your research.”

Silence. There was nothing but silence on the other line and for a second Gold wondered if they got disconnected. Then Maurice French spoke up and he spoke very sternly and seriously. “I swear Gold if this is some joke you’re trying to pull…”

“Joke? Joke? You’re the one who initiated this prank! Why else would she have a picture of you? You gave it to her!”

“Send me that picture,” Maurice demanded.

Gold sighed heavily and pulled out his cell phone to snap a picture of the hardcopy and shoot it over to Maurice through email as an attachment. He waited patiently for the man to get it and when Maurice spoke again he spoke very softly and very calmly. “Gold I want you tell me exactly where you got that picture.”

Now Gold was really frustrated. He was very tired of this. “I told you the girl, this Belle, she sent it to me.”

“Belle…” Maurice said the name as if it was heaven on his lips. “And this woman, what did she look like?”

Gold closed his eyes and stroked the bridge of his nose, recalling the moment Belle had first walked into his office. He remembered how incredibly beautiful she was, but he couldn’t say that. “Brown hair, blue eyes, a voice with a hint of an Australian accent...” The photograph caught his eye again and he noticed the woman in it. “She looked exactly like the woman in your photograph.”

“Where is she now?”

“She was crazy so of course I had her removed from the building.”

“Crazy?” Maurice again sounded irate. “You listen to me now Gold, you find this woman, I don’t care what it takes, but you find her and you arrange for her to call me as soon as you can. Don’t hesitate. I need to speak to her.”

“Now why on earth would you want to speak to a crazy woman? Are you still trying to keep going with this practical joke act?”

“For gods sakes Gold not everything is about you! I think she is my long lost daughter and I need to be sure!”

Gold sat shocked for a moment; so the woman had come to find her father and apparently she had mistaken him for Maurice. Now everything began to make sense, much better more so than a practical joke. Although he still didn’t understand why Belle would want to send her father a negligee?  And how the hell was he going to find her?

“Sir?” David’s voice sounded over the intercom. “You have New York Police Department on line two.”


	9. Chapter 9

Belle was terrified. She had never been locked up before and she had never known that jails could be this bad. After the incident at the department store, Granny had called the police, having both her and the fake Santa removed swiftly.

And now she found herself behind bars sitting on a stone cold slab that looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks. Her knees were pulled up and tucked up under her and she rested her chin on them as she waited patiently to be released. She was all alone in her cell, but the one next to her housed a couple of men, including the imposter she had confronted.

Besides the Santa, who completely ignored her, the other men kept leering at her in a way she had never seen anyone look at her before. It was unsettling, but they seemed nice, despite their rough, unshaven, and tattooed appearances. They continuously greeted and complimented her, saying things like ‘Hey there pretty lady’ or ‘How you doing baby?’

Belle managed to smile and greet them back, but she was really too frightened to hold up a conversation. But she kept telling herself she didn’t have to be frightened for long. Soon her father would come and take her away from this awful place and they could go on with their happy lives and do all the fun things she had planned.

            And sure enough, the door buzzed opened and there stood ‘her father,’ dressed more immaculately than ever in another black suit with a blue tie, big black wool jacket, and gloves. He looked at Belle with an unimpressed and annoyed look on his face.

            “Father!” she exclaimed as she hopped up and ran over to him, the little bells on her feet echoing through the cell. She threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug, causing Gold to go stiff and feel his nostrils with her scent-candy canes and pine-which was more intoxicating than he wanted to admit. “You came! I knew you would come-they told me you wouldn’t, but you’re my father and I knew…”

            Gold held up a hand to cut her off and glared at her as he pried her off of him. He did not like to be touched and this was only souring his mood even more. “Let’s get one thing straight. Belle, I’m NOT your father.”

            Belle looked up at him in disbelief. “What? Father…no I told…you…”           

            Gold cut her off again. “ _I_ am not your father.” He pointed at his chest as he said that. Maurice French is your father.”

            Belle giggled. “Yes I know that.”

            “Well then you should also know that I am not Maurice French.”

            Belle tilted her head and looked at him curiously. “You’re not? Then…why were you sitting at my father’s desk? Why were you in his office?”

            “We share a floor because I’m his business partner, Mr. Gold. I couldn’t use my office that morning because it was being cleaned and unfortunately that led to this misunderstanding.”

            Gold. Belle remembered Santa telling her about him. He was the reason her father was on the naughty list. He didn’t look that naughty…instead he looked suave, sophisticated…maybe even handsome with that shoulder length hair that she had never really seen on a man before. And his eyes were so brown, that looked like they housed some deep secret that one might enjoy uncovering. But there was also a hint of sadness in them and a little bit of loneliness. Maybe he just needed some Christmas cheer, like Papa elf had suggested.

            “I’m sorry,” she apologized, blushing a little because she had made such a silly mistake.

            The blush suited her and added to the elf persona that she seemed to still be sporting. Why was she still dressed like that? He motioned her to follow him so they could leave the precinct. He had already filled out all of the paperwork, paid the bail, which Maurice certainly was going to be held responsible for…so she was free to leave.

Belle didn’t hesitate to flee from the scary place and once they were out on the sidewalk she began to bombard Gold with questions as she trailed behind him, struggling to keep up with his swift pace. “So where is my father? Why didn’t he come for me?”

“I’m afraid you’re father is out of the country, in London and he won’t return until after Christmas,” Gold explained without looking back at her.

Belle felt her heart drop. She wasn’t going to get to be with her father on Christmas? But she had looked forward to it so very much! Well maybe she could just go to him instead. “Then we can go see him! Surprise him!”

Gold glanced back at her and chuckled at the ridiculous suggestion. “I’m not paying to fly you all the way to London.” Gold even doubted Maurice would do such a thing. Even if he wanted to meet her and did believe she was his daughter, it wasn’t for sure. In Gold’s mind he was still certain this woman was just out for money; she just wanted it from Maurice instead of him and thank goodness for that.

“Then where are you taking me?” Belle asked.

“To speak to your father.”

“Speak to him…but you said…how?”

Now he really took a moment to look at her, eyebrow raised. “What do you mean how? On the telephone of course.”

“Ohhhhh….what’s a telephone?” Belle was intrigued. She had made play telephones before, but she had no idea what their real purpose was.

Gold didn’t answer her. Again he just raised an eyebrow at her and kept walking.

As they entered the familiar tall building, the security guards were on alert, but Gold waved them off showing them this time Belle was with him.

“Hey guys!” Belle waved happily to the two guards and then followed Gold into the elevator.

Gold had already pressed the button for their floor when she got in, but her eyes still lit up when she saw the buttons again. Instinctively, she reached out to press all of them like she had last time, but halfway through she was interrupted by Gold.

“What the hell are you doing?!” he exclaimed with a raised voice.

Belle cowered a little at the word and peeked back at him. Ok…yes maybe he was on the naughty list. “I…um…I’m just trying to make it look like a Christmas tree…”

“A Christmas tree? They’re just buttons on an elevator.” He sounded very annoyed now. What was it with this woman and Christmas?

The elevator came up to the next floor and began its series of stops. Gold stepped out, causing Belle to rush after him. “And now we have to change elevators because of your nonsense.”

Belle followed him into the next elevator and despite the urge she did not push any more buttons not wanting to upset the man or hear any more naughty words. She was anxious to talk to him though and broke the silence. “I do love Christmas very much,” she told him despite the fact any normal person would be able to tell he didn’t want to converse. “And I hope my father does too…”

He glanced over and looked her up and down just taking in her unique costume-not her beauty. “I suppose that explains the get up,” he said motioning at her dress.

Belle looked down at herself. “Oh…well…not exactly. This is just what us elves wear.”

“Us?”

“Yes…I’m an elf-well I’m a human, but I was raised by elves. I’ve lived in the North Pole with Papa elf all my life. He’s the one who adopted me.” Belle smiled brightly.

Gold just looked at her like she was completely insane. And she was if she honestly believed this.

The elevator opened then, letting them out onto their floor and Gold led her to his office, which was practically identical to Maurice’s overlooking all of New York City.

Belle received a funny look from David as they walked by, but Gold did not allow them time to say anything to each other. “David get Maurice on the phone,” Gold demanded, ushering Belle into his office and shutting the door behind him. He just wanted to get this over with so he could send Belle on her way and get on with his work.

The first thing Belle noticed when she stepped into the office was the open gift she had sent her father…or well Mr. Gold. “You got my gift!” Belle exclaimed joyfully as she went over to the desk to pick up the box. “I’m sorry-it was meant for my father…but I can get you a Christmas present too. But if you want to keep this…I’m sure I can find him something else…”

“No I don’t want to keep it,” Gold grumbled.

“Oh…well I can rewrap it and give it to him then…do you think he will like it?”

“No I don’t think he will like it,” Gold snapped.

Belle turned to meet his gaze and she looked hurt. “You don’t?”

Gold rolled his eyes. This woman was certainly strange. “You bought your father lingerie-no father wants that from his daughter whether he knows her or not.”

Belle shook her head. “I don’t understand…what’s lingerie?”

Really? She had no idea what lingerie was? Or a telephone? Was she really that sheltered? Or did this stem from her belief that she was an elf from the North Pole? “It’s a woman’s nightgown,” he explained giving the most simplest explanation possible. He definitely didn’t want to explain it’s true purpose. “Meant only for a woman not a man.”

“Oh…OH…oh my goodness…I’m so sorry! I had no idea! I will find both of you a present then, the right present. I promise.” Again she smiled so brightly up at Gold.

It was the most outlandish thing-not just the way the woman thought, but also the fact that this woman kept smiling at him. No one ever acted so friendly toward him, even if they didn’t know him. This had to be part of her act.

David rang through the intercom then, explaining Maurice was ready for them.

Gold held the phone receiver out for Belle and she looked at it nervously. She was so excited to meet her father…to talk to her father…but now that the moment was here she hesitated. It was funny she had already done this once before, but that had been a mistake. Now here was a chance to try again, but she was so fearful of rejection. He had wanted to talk to her though; that was a good sign.

With a shaky hand, she reached out and took the phone from Gold and held it up to her ear. “Hello? Father?”

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

So Belle finally got to talk to her real father, I mean her biological father. I’m her real father; I raised her, he didn’t. But I can’t really have any hard feelings toward the man-it wasn’t like he knew where to find Belle or that she even existed-except that he did, but I didn’t know that and neither did Belle until he explained everything to her over the phone.

It was true that he had not known Colette was pregnant, but she had wanted to tell him. Only her parents found out before that could happen and they were not happy about it. Not only would she have been a teenage mother, but they didn’t like Maurice and didn’t want their daughter to have a baby with the man. So they tried to force her to get rid of it, you know what I mean, but she just couldn’t do that.

Her only other option: run away. And that’s exactly what she did, devastating everyone around her, including Maurice who still had no idea what was going on. It wasn’t until a year later that both Maurice and Colette’s parents had found out what happened to her. She had died in childbirth, but the baby Belle had survived and been put up for adoption-only to go missing soon after.

And we all know she didn’t really go missing-she had just come here to live with us in North Pole but those humans didn’t know that. But afther Maurice found out, he had never suffered so badly; his heart was truly broken and he did everything in his power to find his baby girl, but he never did.

Yet, just as he had given up, she had found him.

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            “You know your mother and I always talked about naming our baby girl Belle if we ever had one,” Maurice said, still in shock as he was talking to his grown daughter through the phone. But he was in such euphoria that he felt like he was floating on a cloud. “That’s how I knew this was real-we never told anyone that.”

            Belle’s heart swelled. She still couldn’t believe this was real too and he was taking it so much better than Gold have-although Gold was not her father. “I love my name, father-I always have.”

            Maurice chuckled. “I’m glad. And I can’t wait to see you…”

            “When are you coming home?”

            Maurice took a deep breath and braced himself to tell her bad news. “Not until after Christmas-I’m sorry Belle, but I can’t cut my trip short-we can discuss why later. And I know that’s a couple of weeks from now, but you will be there waiting won’t you?”

            “Of course father, I came all this way to see you! I wouldn’t leave now!”

            “Good. I trust you’ve found a decent place to stay?”

            Belle bit her bottom lip. “Well, I had hoped to stay with you-but maybe I could stay at Macy’s again.”

            “Macy’s?” That made no sense to Maurice. “You’re not staying in a hotel or with friends?”

            “No.”

            Maurice sighed. “Put Gold on the phone.”

            “Okay,” Belle agreed. She looked across the room toward Gold who was watching her intently, making no effort not to eavesdrop. “He would like to talk to you.” Belle held out the receiver after telling her father goodbye and that she loved him.

            Gold looked at her with his mouth formed into a thin line. What could Maurice possibly want to talk to him about? He stepped over and took the phone from Belle to speak with his partner.

            “Gold listen, I’m not going to be able to come back early. You’re gonna have to take care of Belle while I’m away.”

            “WHAT?!” Gold yelled loud enough for the whole floor to hear him and caused Belle to jump, almost falling from his chair that she was sitting in behind his desk. Gold’s eyes shot down to see her looking curious and a little scared. He took a deep breath. He may not care about eavesdropping on her, but he did not want to be eavesdropped on himself.

            “Belle, if you could wait out in the hall…?” It was more of a command than a question.

            Belle smiled softly and nodded, standing and heading out the door.

            As soon as she was out of earshot, he went back to his conversation with Maurice. “What do you mean I’ve got to take care of her? She’s not my daughter!” He still couldn’t believe Maurice was falling for this so easily. He hadn’t even seen the woman, only spoke to her on the phone!

            “I know, I know, but I’ve spent so many years looking for her, I don’t want anything to happen to her and she needs a safe place to stay. I trust you, that’s why I want her to stay with you.”

            “Stay?! You’re mad if you believe I would honestly let this woman stay with me! She thinks she’s an elf!” Gold was fuming.

            “An elf?” This was the first he had heard of this. Belle had mentioned Christmas and Papa elf, but she hadn’t made that point clear to him that she thought she was an elf.

            “Yes, a Christmas elf, she thinks she’s a Christmas elf and that she’s spent her entire life living in the North Pole.”

            “Gold, that’s ridiculous. I’m sure she doesn’t think she’s an elf, now are you going to help me or not?”

            If Maurice wasn’t going to believe him, then he was in for a rude awakening when he arrived home. Gold glanced out toward the open doorway where he saw Belle off in the distance admiring the large cactus in the hall. She reached out and touched it. She squealed in pain, immediately jerking her hand away because the cactus pricked her. She gave it a dirty look and then backed away unfortunately stumbling into another cactus, tripping and falling down, bringing the plant with her.

            Gold rolled his eyes. The girl was not only crazy, but she was a menace! He could only imagine was chaos she would cause in his home and then what about Neal? What would he think? And what kind of father would he be if he brought a strange woman home to live with them for a couple weeks? She was harmless though; reading people had always been a talent of his.

            And he was a businessman and he did like to deal and that of course won out over everything else. “I’ll tell you what, Maurice. We’ll make a deal. I’ll let the girl into my home until you return, but in exchange you will compensate me very well for this. Not only will you pay me, but you will also cover each and every one of the girl’s expenses. She sneezes and uses a tissue you will replace it. She needs a new pair of shoes you buy them. And on top of all that-you will owe me a favor which I can collect on at any time I see fit.”

            Now Maurice knew how dangerous it could be to owe Gold a favor. They worked together and he saw what he asked for from clients. But Maurice was truthful when he had said he trusted Gold; they had known each other for many years and he would never deal with anyone else. This was his long lost daughter; he had to make sure she was in taken care of. “Done,” he said firmly. “Gold, we have a deal.”

            Gold grinned maliciously then; just as he always did when he struck a deal that he knew was going to go mostly, if not all, in his favor. “Very well, consider her in good hands and feel free to check in on her as you please.” He sounded enthused about this entire prospect now, but it was only an act. Deep down he was enraged, but he knew he would come out on top in the end. It would all be worth it. He could handle whatever she could dish out-or so he thought.

            “Mister Gold…” Belle peeked around the doorway. She looked very disheveled.   “I…I think I might need a bandage.”

            She held out her hand then, which had a few cactus spikes protruding out the palm and was dripping blood.

            Gold sighed heavily and hung up the phone with Maurice. “Why didn’t you ask for David’s help?” he reproached.

            “H…he’s not here…”

            He glanced up at the clock. It was after five and his assistant must had gone home for the day. Now he would have to deal with this. He groaned inwardly, retrieved a first aid kit and motioned at her to follow him. “Come on, I’ll take you to the bathroom to wash up.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

            Belle sat on the sink and allowed him to clean her wound, cringing when he removed the spines from the cactus. It was hard not to jerk away, but after trying that once and having him yell at her prevented her from doing it again. A few tears burned her eyes.

            Seeing the tears made him realize how painful this was for her and to his surprise he smiled softly at her, a genuine smile, but only for a second. “Don’t worry-it looks worse than it is.”

            Belle glanced over at him just in time to catch the smile. It suited him-making him look so much younger and happier than he did with that constant scowl on his face.

            “You should smile more often,” she told him.

            “I smile enough.”

            She had a feeling that was not true. “But it brings out your eyes.”

            He paused then and let his eyes wonder up and meet hers-her gorgeous soft blue ones and for a moment he got lost in them as he tried to figure her out. So strange this woman…why would she say something so kind like that? To him of all people?

            He cleared his throat and glanced away when it occurred to him he was staring and she was so close. “Yes well…like I said. I smile enough.”

            “There,” he said, as he finished wrapping up her wounded hand. “Now let’s go.”

            “Go? Where’re we going?” Belle hopped down from the sink, careful not to put any pressure on her wounded hand.

            “To my house.”

            “Your house? What are we going to do there?” Belle beamed. “Watch Christmas movies? Bake cookies? Decorate the Christmas tree?”

            Seriously, what was it with her and Christmas? “No,” he said firmly. “You are coming to reside at my house until your father returns. After that you’re his problem. Now go gather your things and let’s go.”

           


	11. Chapter 11

            “This is your house?! But why is it so big?!” Belle had paused just outside the grand building Gold called home to gape at it. It wasn’t quite as tall as his work building, but she still had to crane her neck quite a bit to see the top.

            “This is not a house, it’s an apartment building.” Gold was really getting tired of the girl’s excessive questions. Did she not know anything?

            “Apartment?”

            No. Gold answered his own question.

            Belle stumbled in through the revolving door behind him, almost catching her dress between the wall and the door. This door actually looked like fun…she wanted to keep spinning around in circles in it, but Gold was in such a hurry. Why was he always in a rush? She could barely keep up!

            Other people passed them in the hallway and she greeted them happily, but received strange looks in return-this time not because of what she was wearing, but because of whom she was with.  

            “How many people do you live with?” she asked.

            “It’s an apartment building,” he repeated, putting his key in and pushing the button to the elevator. He flashed Belle a strict look before she could try what she had in the other elevator and push all the buttons. “Each floor houses more than one family. I live in the penthouse with my son Neal.”

            At the mention of a son, Belle’s eyes sparkled, her energy increased by tenfold, and a slew of questions came spilling out of her mouth. “You have a son?! Why didn’t you tell me?! How old is he? What’s his favorite color? What does he want for Christmas? Oh…now we will have so much fun…we can sing Christmas carols and play games and build snowmen and…”

            “BELLE, BELLE, CALM DOWN,” Gold interrupted holding his hands up to stop her excessive babbling. This was really starting to get on his nerves. How he would make it through the next couple of weeks he didn’t know, but he had a feeling he would be staying away from her as much as possible.

            Belle looked at him and blushed bashfully. “I’m sorry…I got carried away…” She sighed. “Tell me about your son.”

            He stared at her for a silent moment, seeing that she truly wanted to know more and for some reason now he seemed to be at a loss for words. “Well…eh, Neal he’s ten and he’s a very good boy, quiet.” He sould tell her neither of them were truly into celebrating Christmas, but he had a feeling that would upset her and he already had enough.

            “And what about Mrs. Gold?”

            His head shot up then. “Mrs. Gold?” She thought he was married? An odd feeling began to come over him and he realized, but didn’t want to admit it, he didn’t want her to think that.

            “Yes, Neal’s mother? Mrs. Gold?” Belle repeated with a nod and a smile.

            “There is no Mrs. Gold,” he told her honestly and for a brief moment he let his guard fall. “Neal’s mother abandoned us when he was three.”

            In an instant Belle went from happy to sad as she could see how much this pained Mr. Gold. She had never known what it was like to have a mother-only her adopted father-but for a child to have a mother and then have her just up and leave was terrible. She reached out and gently touched the side of his arm. “I’m so sorry,” she said sympathetically as she smiled at him kindly as her only way to offer condolences.

            Something about the way she was looking at him and the fact that she was touching him was very unsettling to Gold-not necessarily unsettling in a bad way, in a good way yes, but that made it all the more disconcerting because he did not want to have any kind of feelings toward another women, especially this woman. Not only that, but he knew better because no woman would ever reciprocate such feelings. Nevertheless, he did not want to discuss his ex-wife and he put his walls up again.

            “It’s in the past.” He shoved her off of him just in time for the elevator doors to open revealing his luxurious apartment overlooking Manhattan. As usual, Belle’s eyes widened, as once again she had never seen such things. She sprung from the elevator first, running around the apartment and taking everything in. The furniture was quite boring and very contemporary, lacking color or design. The entire place was so pristine that one might not even want to touch or even step foot in the place for fear of getting it dirty. And there were no Christmas decorations whatsoever! She would have to take care of that. However, there was a large leather sectional that sat in the middle of the living space which looked like a very comfortable place to snuggle up and watch Christmas movies or read a book.

            But despite the fact that everything seemed lackluster to Belle, she was taken aback by the apartment’s view of the city. It was almost as gorgeous as the one from Gold’s office, which as she stood at the large windows that stretched from ceiling to floor and all the way across the room, she could actually see the Empire State Building and much more. “It’s so beautiful,” she gawked, pressing her hands and forehead against the window.

            “Don’t touch the glass,” Gold scolded making her jump back immediately.

She half turned to look at him timidly. “I’m sorry…I can clean that…” She seemed to be apologizing a lot lately.

“Papa…who’s that?”

Gold and Belle both turned to see that Neal had come into the room without either of them being aware of it.

Belle of course instantly brightened again, having so looked forward to meeting the boy.

“Neal, this is Belle. She’s Maurice’s daughter. She’s going to be staying with us for a while until he’s back in town.”

Belle’s smile grew and she stepped forward to greet him, her hands crossed in front of her. “Hi, Neal!”

The little curly headed dark haired boy looked at her skeptically, not sure what to think. He had eyes that matched his fathers that appeared to have that same hint of sadness, only less hidden like Gold’s. “I didn’t know Maurice had a daughter.”

“Yes, well, neither did I until this afternoon. Where’s Mrs. Potts?” Gold looked around for Neal’s nanny.

“She’s in the kitchen making spaghetti,” he told his father.

Gold nodded and left to dismiss her.

Neal stayed there with Belle and continued to scrutinize her. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“I’m an elf,” Belle replied cheerily. “From the North Pole. I work in Santa’s shop making toys for Christmas.”

“Right…” Clearly Neal did not believe her and he was very skeptical as to why his father would bring home a crazy person.

“If you want I can put in a good word to Santa for you-make sure he knows what you really want for Christmas!”

Neal was scowling a little bit and Belle couldn’t help but think how he perfectly resembled Gold. “No thanks,” he said politely and moved toward the kitchen. “I think it’s time for dinner.”

            The kitchen was divided off separate from the living room and when Belle walked in she saw Mr. Gold along with a plump elderly woman with her hair tied back in a bun removing a pot from the stove.

            The woman, Mrs. Potts she had heard Gold say, looked up and for once Belle did not get a strange look. “Why hello there, dear, don’t you look lovely?” Mrs. Potts complimented.

            Belle looked down at her dress grinning. “Thank you…”

            “That’s a lovely dress, wherever did you get it?”

            “I made it…that and the hat and shoes too.”

            Mrs. Potts eyes went wide with amazement. “You did? Well my goodness child…such intricate detail. I would love to be able to have such talent.”

            “I could teach you! Or I could make you one too!” Belle exclaimed. She glanced around. Gold and Neal were preparing the table for dinner. “I could make everyone a suit!”

            Gold grimaced. “That won’t be necessary.” He looked to the nanny, ready for her to leave so she would stop egging Belle on. “Mrs. Potts that will be all.”

            “Yes, sir,” she replied. She took her white apron off and hung it on a hook by the refrigerator. “It was nice to meet you…”

            “Belle, my name is Belle.”

            “Belle, such a beautiful name. It was nice to meet you Belle. I’m sure I will see you again soon my dear.”

            “Bye!” Belle waved to the kind woman as she left. “She was nice. I like her.” Belle commented as she sat down in the seat adjacent to Neal.

            Gold brought the bowl of spaghetti over and put it in the middle of the table along with the sauce and meatballs.

Belle eyed the food apprehensively, having never had spaghetti before. It looked just like giant worms and it slithered like worms as she watched it fall from the bowl to the plate as Gold and Neal dished out their portions.

She was extremely hungry though, realizing she hadn’t eaten anything in over a day, so she was going to try it. Plus, she didn’t mind testing new things.

Scooping out just a little, she struggled to get it to stay on her fork so she could take a bite.

“Twist it,” Neal said when he saw she was struggling. He held out his own fork, demonstrating what he meant.

Belle copied his movements and it worked! She took her first bite and…she moaned pleasantly. It was absolutely scrumptious! Except…there was something missing. It wasn’t sweet like everything she was accustomed to eating, not at all.

“Would you pass the maple syrup please?” she requested politely. Syrup was exactly what it needed to make it taste just right.

Gold looked up from eating silently and he cocked an eyebrow at her. “Syrup? It’s spaghetti.”

Belle supposed that meant he didn’t have any. “That’s alright…I may have some.” Belle reached into a hidden pocket tucked into the side of her dress and pulled out a small bottle of what was indeed maple syrup. She opened it and poured the entire contents on her small mound of spaghetti.

Gold and Neal just both watched with disgust. Surly she wouldn’t eat that…except that she did. Every last bit.

“You like sugar huh?” Neal asked wanting to break the uncomfortable silence that seemed to be plaguing the table.

Belle looked at him curiously, not sure what he was talking about. “Is there sugar in syrup?”

“Well…yeah…”

“Then, yes! We elves like to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup. But apparently I like spaghetti too!”

Both Neal and Gold just honestly didn’t know what to think. And just when Gold had thought she couldn’t get any stranger…

“It’s a surprise your teeth haven’t rot out of your head,” Gold said with a hint of jest.

“Oh…well we have the best dentist up in the North Pole. His name is Hermey the elf.”

“Hermey? The elf from that Rudolph cartoon?” Neal questioned.

“I don’t know about that, but he and Rudolph are good friends. They went on a whole adventure together once, back before Rudolph was one of Santa’s reindeer.”

“Yeah, that’s just how the cartoon goes,” Neal claimed, feeling as if she was just using the plot of the cartoon to pretend she had experienced it first hand. He shot his father a reproachful look. Why would he bring someone home who believed such things? He was ten, but he had known the truth about Santa for many years.

“I should tell you the story!” Belle exclaimed as the idea popped into her head. “And then after that I can tell you about my journey here!”

“No, no that’s quite alright,” Gold objected.

“I don’t mind, really-I love telling stories!”

“Surprising.” Gold was being one hundred percent sarcastic when he said that, but from the look on Belle’s face he could tell she probably didn’t even know what sarcasm was.

As she began to go in the very familiar story of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Gold realized this truly was going to be a long couple of weeks.


	12. Chapter 12

After dinner Neal retreated to his room to escape both Belle and his father. Belle’s intense feelings toward Christmas and insistence that she was an elf were entertaining, but his father’s attitude toward her just made him uncomfortable. Neal could tell his father was not happy about having Belle stay with them and she certainly annoyed him. And the fact that Belle didn’t even seem to notice made it all the more awkward.

However, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Neal to spend most of his time in his room. Gold barely paid attention to him when he was home and when he did they always ended up arguing, which Neal hated even more. So being alone was better than having to deal with all that, even though he did love his father dearly and wanted to spend time with him.

Gold, however, couldn’t retreat as quickly, although he wished he could. Belle just would not stop going on about Christmas. He couldn’t stand it and had to do something with her. He didn’t have a guest room-he never had any guests-so he had to find an alternate place for her to sleep.    

“Where are you taking me now?” Belle asked always eager to know everything. Gold had requested she follow him to the other side to the penthouse, to a room he rarely used nowadays.

“Your room.”

“My room?”

“Yes. I don’t have an extra bed, nor do I want you sleeping in the living room, but fortunately for you the sofa in the library folds out into a sleeper.”

“Library? You have a library?” Belle spoke so softly, so in disbelief, but her eyes glistened with excitement. She had read about libraries-places with housed gobs of books, so many books that she couldn’t even imagine being able to read them all in one lifetime. It had been her dream to one day visit one. And Gold had one all to himself in his home?

She let her imagination get away from her as she pictured a giant room with books that stretched so high that she would need a ladder to reach them. In her vision she could see seats by the window full of cushions perfect for reading during all hours of the day, a fireplace with a warm fire, and a large Christmas tree twinkling in the corner. Just as she always did, she let herself get lost in the fantasy of having the opportunity to just read all day long without having any other worry in the world.

When Gold opened the door to the supposed library though, she felt a tinge of disappointment because it was nothing like what her books had always made them out to be. Instead, it was just a small room, with only three of the walls lined with small bookcases, filled with older leather bound books. There was a big desk in the middle of the room, similar to the one at Gold’s office and the couch he had spoken of in the corner was plain like all the other furniture in the home. It looked dark and dreary, like one would go there to be shut off from the world forever, but not for a good reason, such as getting lost in a book and pretending to be part of another. There even seemed to be a little breeze in the air, giving her the shivers. This was nothing like what she would have thought a library would have been like.

There were books, though, a good many of them, more than she was used to, so that was a positive thing about this situation. She could at least look forward to reading some new material.

Gold went to pull the couch out, set out a sheet, a couple of blankets, and a pillow so Belle could make the bed. He showed her where the bathroom was and the closet filled with more blankets, towels, and soaps. “You should find everything you need in here,” Gold told her. “But should you need anything else…” …which he really hoped she wouldn’t... “…my room is at the end of the hall.” He pointed to the one he spoke of.

“Thank you, for everything,” she told him gratefully. “You’ve been so kind to me ever since we met, even after I mistook you for my father.” There was a hint of blush on her cheeks again, something that always seemed to cause Gold to fumble and glance away.

Kind? She thought he was kind? She was sorely mistaken. “Yes…well…goodnight.” He turned and rushed away from her, hearing her call goodnight to him as he retreated.

Once Gold was gone, she could no longer resist the urge to pilfer through the books in the library, eager to find out what goodies were awaiting her. Alas, there wasn’t that many-in fact not any at all. None of Gold’s books were storybooks. They were all non-fiction, related to running a business or books on law, which were absolute nonsense to her. She was trying her best to make the most of it, to check and double check, but in the end she turned up empty handed. And in her heart she was genuinely disheartened.

She sighed heavily and went to make her bed. It was probably best if she just went to sleep. Between the journey from the North Pole and all the events leading up to that point, she was exhausted and had not taken any time for true rest. As an elf, she didn’t need as much as normal humans, but she still needed some here or there.

As she finished up, she looked around and realized Gold hadn’t left her anything to sleep in. She checked the closet he had shown her-nothing; it was only bathroom supplies. Hmm…she considered her options. She hadn’t brought any clothes from the North Pole because she wanted to travel light, but she couldn’t continue wearing what she had on. It did need to be washed and it wasn’t comfortable to sleep in.

Deciding she just needed to ask Gold for something to wear, she headed toward his room when she paused noticing something sitting on a side table in the living room. It was the gift she had sent Gold. Of course! She could wear that! Gold told her it was a woman’s nightgown. No one else was going to use it and she didn’t want something so pretty to go to waste.

Removing it from the box, she ran back to the bathroom to change, slipping it on along with the matching underwear. It fit perfectly, hugging her figure snuggly up top, while flaring at the bottom. It was nothing like she was accustomed to wearing. For one, it barely covered anything, but it was still adorable. Not only that, but it was also very Christmassy, her favorite.   The underwear was a little odd though. She wasn’t exactly sure why the back was just a string, but it brought the whole outfit together so she wore them anyway.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she finished up in the bathroom and went to lay down in what she would soon find out had to be the most uncomfortable bed in the world. The mattress was lumpy and hard and the sheets were rough. It felt like an eternity before she finally adjusted to a position where she could actually fall asleep. She sighed and nestled the pillow pulling both blankets up over her.

It was very cold in the library, colder than the rest of the house. And her nightgown wasn’t providing much protection, not like the one she wore back at the North Pole.

In general it was out of the ordinary for her to be cold; she was used to extreme temperatures. Up in the North Pole, however, they had industrial heating and warmer outfits and bedclothes and then of course Christmas magic. Being cold had never been an issue, so yet again she was experiencing something new as she lay there on that hard bed shivering profusely.

She went to the closet and grabbed a few more blankets, but they weren’t sufficient either. They were thin and not made of warm materials like wool. Now her teeth were chattering and somehow she just felt colder. Oh how she just longed to snuggle…snuggle, of course! Why didn’t she think of it before? And why didn’t Gold offer?

Elves loved to snuggle; surely humans did too. And if Gold was anywhere near as cold as she was, she knew he would love to. Abandoning her makeshift bed, she tiptoed down the hallway toward Gold’s room, careful not to make noise. The apartment was quiet and dark so she knew Neal and Gold were probably already asleep. She didn’t want to accidentally wake them.

Cracking the door open slightly, she saw she was right, noticing that Gold was already snug in his bed. And it was a very appealing looking bed at that, a canopy large enough for at least four people! She was just astonished. All the beds back home had been so small and her feet hung off the ends, but she knew that wasn’t going to be the case with this one.

Trying not to squeal with excitement, she slipped in the door shutting it behind her. OH…it was also so much warmer in this bedroom too! She was already feeling better.

Quietly padding over to the bed, she moved the comforter aside and slid underneath it. She almost moaned with pleasure, but resisted, still not wanting to wake Gold. He wasn’t stirring so she knew he was sound asleep.

This bed though…it was completely the opposite of the other. It had to be the most comfortable she had ever been in. The sheets were silky smooth, the mattress as soft as a fresh pile of snow, and the comforter was made of down feathers. It was just so nice, it felt like heaven and she just took a moment to wiggle her feet under the blanket, shocked that they indeed did not hang off the end.

This could not get any more perfect, except it was missing one thing...the snuggles.

So scooting over closer to Gold, she nuzzled up against his back, sighing contently as she let her head hit the pillow. He smelled so nice, a woody and earthy smell, with a hint of spice. It was a little intoxicating and just what she needed for a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t until she was just about to drift off that she felt Gold stir for the first time since climbing in the bed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: Please feel free to prompt me of any silly things you want to see happen :)

Gold was glad to finally get a moment alone. Spending practically the entire day with Belle had sapped his energy. All he wanted to do was go to bed and forget all about it. And hopefully, when he woke the next day he would find out that this was just some freakish nightmare and everything would go back to normal just as he liked it.

He went through his same old nightly routine, getting ready to lie down and relax. When his head finally hit the pillow, he felt some of the tension leave his body. He had decided he wasn't going to let this woman disrupt his life and these weeks would be over soon enough. His plan was to just keep the woman at his house while he went to work, making sure he worked over time. He would have to figure out what he was going to do with Neal; he didn't want to subject his son to her constantly, but he would have to think on that. With those thoughts in mind, he fell into a light and dreamless sleep.

About an hour later, he was jarred out of that sleep though when he thought he heard something. Having fallen asleep on his side, facing away from the door, he glanced back behind him. There was nothing there. It was as dark and as quiet as it always was. He turned back over, closed his eyes, and began to drift again, thinking nothing about it.

Moments later, though, he went from dreamland to reality in the blink of an eye as he felt another body press up against his. Forgetting that Belle was in the apartment and knowing Neal would never come climb in his bed, Gold had no idea what was happening.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as he stumbled out of the bed, getting tangled up in the covers as he did so. Unable to free himself, he hit the floor with a loud thump, but managed to scramble to his feet, back away, and flip the lamp on, illuminating the room revealing who had joined him.

There, curled up in the bed right next to where he had been lying, was Belle, looking disoriented and confused about what was going on.

"BELLE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!" He spoke fast and out of breath as he was quickly getting worked up and angry.

Belle cringed at the naughty word-she really wished he would stop talking like that-and moved to sit up, letting the blanket fall down around her waist. "It was cold and I just wanted to snuggle…" She spoke with honesty.

"Snuggle? SNUGGLE?" Gold ran his fingers through his hair frustratingly, barely looking at her and not yet noticing how she was dressed.

"Elves love to snuggle-I just thought humans did too…" Was she wrong? Or did she just surprise him?

"Belle, you…" He froze, going completely still when his eyes ventured up and landed on Belle. She was…she was…oh gods…she was wearing that lingerie. That see-through lingerie that cupped her breasts, accenting them heavily. His heart began to beat fast, his breathing became labored, and his eyes were practically bulging out of his head. "You…you're…you're in my bed and you're wearing that?!"

"Oh!" Belle glanced down at herself, realizing he hadn't seen the nightgown on her yet. She had been looking forward to showing it to him, but she originally was going to wait until morning, not wanting to wake him. It was too late for that now.

Moving the blankets aside, she slid out of the bed and stood up. Flashing him the biggest smile, she did a little twirl on her tiptoes. The bottom of the gown came just below the bottom of her bum and when she spun it flared up, giving Gold a full view of everything. "It fits perfectly-do you like it?"

Gold shook his head, his whole body trembling as he tried to process what was going on and force himself not stare at her gorgeous curves any longer. "Belle cover yourself! Cover yourself now!"

Belle looked around, confused. "I don't understand…you don't like it?" She sounded very disappointed and she stepped closer to him, wanting to make sure he got a good look before he made a decision.

Gold backed away quickly, bumping into furniture and trying not to fall over as he did so. She was getting close-too close-and he couldn't handle it. "Belle…I…please cover yourself," he begged as he caught another glimpse of her creamy skin. He looked around for something, anything to throw at her to do just that because she didn't seem to understand or she was just pretending not to understand. He honestly didn't care which at the moment; he just wanted it done.

There was nothing around him though, but he was so desperate that in an instant he had his pajama shirt unbuttoned and pulled off, tossing it at her. "PUT THAT ON OVER YOUR GOWN NOW!"

Belle caught the plaid green shirt just before it hit the floor and she looked at it unsure. He wanted her to wear his shirt, which was meant for a man? None of this really made sense. He had told her that the outfit she was wearing was meant for only for a woman, not a man, so she just assumed it was the same for men's clothes. But he was really upset now and she was certain he did not like her outfit, so she obliged to make him happy, sliding it up around her shoulders, but not buttoning it.

She did however wrap it around her and close her eyes as she sighed blissfully. It smelled like him. And oh how it was so warm…maybe that was what he was concerned about, that she was too cold in her gown. But now he was topless, wearing nothing but his pajama pants. It caused her to stare now, having never seen a topless man. He was a lot fitter than he looked with clothes on. "Won't you be cold?" she asked, concerned.

Being cold was the last thing on Gold's mind. All he was concerned with was covering Belle so she wasn't exposed to him, making his blood boil and feel like he was out of control. And now she was more covered than before, but it just wasn't any better. If anything it was worse. She was standing there, just inches from him, dressed in both the nighty and his shirt and it was only making her look all the more sexy, especially now as she pulled her brown locks forward and began twisting her hair in her fingers.

He should run, he wanted to run, as far away as he possibly could, but he was frozen in place unable to take his eyes off her, unable to answer her, barely able to breathe.

Belle mistook the way he was looking at her as a 'yes' to her question about being cold and she smiled, blushing a little. "I don't want you to be cold…" She walked back over to the bed and climbed back in it, moving over to give him room to do the same. She gently patted his side. "Come back to bed so you'll be warm and we can go back to sleep."

"Sleep?" He tilted his head, looking at her as if she had completely lost it. That's what she had planned, coming to his bed uninvited, dressed like that? She only wanted to sleep? He wasn't buying that and he wasn't buying this innocent elf act anymore either.

Suddenly, he found his will again to look away and move. He had to get out of there; he couldn't take being with her another moment. He began fleeing toward the door, babbling words that made no sense.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Belle objected. He seemed mad now and she didn't want that. But he also seemed intent on leaving, but paused at the door when he heard her call out to him. "Please," she pleaded, crawling forward on the bed.

"I'm sorry-I didn't mean to startle you…I'll put on something you like…I'll go back to the cold room…"

Very briefly Gold glanced back at her but instantly regretted it. If he stayed there another moment, he was certain he would take her up on her offer, something he knew he would regret. He hated this woman; he wasn't supposed to be attracted to her. "No-take the bed. I'll make alternate arrangements," he mumbled, not truly wanting to give it up, but preferring to give in rather than stay there another second.

And with that he was gone, slamming the door behind him, leaving Belle bewildered.


	14. Chapter 14

            That night Gold ended up getting absolutely no sleep whatsoever. After leaving Belle, he went to take a long and very cold shower to clear his head. This woman had affected him way more than he ever thought possible and he did not like it.

            The shower did help though, but it also woke him up, which didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep now anyway. There was no way he was returning to his room to join Belle, the sleeper in the library had already been tainted with her as well, and the couch in the living room wasn’t quite comfortable enough to sleep on for a long period of time.

            Still, he settled in the living room, dressed in his same pajama pants and another top he found in the dryer, and found a movie on television he could pay attention to and would block out the images of Belle. It was also helping him forget that she had just practically stolen his nice warm bed, leaving him out there on a cold and uncomfortable couch.

            Eventually he did drift off though, this time into a sleep full of dreams of Belle and what might have happened if he had chosen to stay with her. Eventually those dreams transformed into one that sported of a domestic life with her, living in the North Pole in a quaint little cottage that looked like a gingerbread house instead of his fancy New York apartment. It was the most ridiculous dream he probably had ever had-him parading around in the silliest blue elf costume while Belle danced around and spoke of eating sugarplums and making snow angels, but it didn’t bother his dream self. Instead he actually enjoyed being with her, watching her, listening to her, and there was something special between them, something more than just friendship. It was love. They were madly in love.

            “Papa?”

            Neal was there too…adorned in his own little elf outfit and for once he actually seemed happy, something Gold had always wanted for his son, but had never been able to make it possible. Neal came running up from the candy cane forest and gave Belle a big hug, before turning and doing the same with his father. Gold laughed boisterously and swung his son in his arms.

            “Papa?”

            They were the perfect and most happy family and it was all because of Belle. She had brought them together and he loved her truly.

            “Papa? Wake up!”

            Gold’s eyes popped open and the first thing he saw was Neal’s face looming above him. “Neal?” He didn’t look like an elf. What was going on?

            “Why are you sleeping on the couch?” his son questioned.

            “Couch?” Gold blinked his eyes a few times and looked around as his penthouse living room came into focus. The euphoria began to wear off. Oh he was home, back in his apartment. Thank the gods! He didn’t care how happy or in love he had felt in that dream-it would be a nightmare if it were to come to pass-not that it would. There was no such thing as the North Pole-well no living in it anyway. And he would never have feelings for Belle nor would she ever care for him. No one cared for him. At times he even doubted his son’s love.

            He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his back, which was hurting now because of the position in which he fell asleep. “It’s a long story, son…” One that he was definitely not planning on telling.

            Neal nodded and shrugged it off. “Okay…well, Belle made breakfast.” He hopped up and ran toward his room. “I already ate. I’m gonna go get ready for school.”

            Gold watched his son retreat and then he looked toward the kitchen. The last thing he wanted to do was face Belle and he wasn’t going to if he didn’t have to.

            Opting to steer clear of her, he went to his room, purposely avoiding any glance toward the freshly slept in bed. From this night forward, he would be returning to his bed; he was not willing to do another night on the couch. Belle would just have to deal with the sleeper in the library and he would have to make sure to request Mrs. Potts change the sheets. He couldn’t lie in a bed that most likely was doused in her fresh scent of peppermint. That could cause more of those unwanted dreams and feelings.

            As he dressed in one of his finest suits, he hoped he would be able to sneak out before Belle found him. He didn’t have to worry about Neal. The boy could take care of himself and he always walked to school each morning any way since it was only a couple of blocks away.

It was better this way, hiding. Yes, he wished he could just go in the kitchen and enjoy his morning tea like he did every single day, but today he would just have to pick something up on the way to work.  

            Luckily at first, everything did seem to be going his way. He heard Neal rustling around, putting his shoes on and getting his book bag; he heard Belle call goodbye to the boy and then the elevator doors opened and closed. Belle’s footsteps were the last noise as they patted away back into the kitchen.

            Grabbing his briefcase, he knew now was as good a time as any and he hurried out of his room and to the elevator, pushing the button and waiting impatiently for the door to open. It wouldn’t open. He pushed it again. Nothing. Grr…he should have waited a few minutes because the elevator had to go all the way to the bottom and back to the top most likely. Perhaps he should just take the stairs because any moment now Belle could…

            “Mister Gold?”

            Gold closed his eyes and sighed heavily, not having to turn around to know she was standing right there. “Yes, what is it?” He sounded annoyed and did not move to face her.

            “I…I made breakfast. Wouldn’t you like some before you go to work?” She sounded so meek and unsure, frightened even.

            Once again he sighed. Well, he hadn’t managed to avoid her, and breakfast sounded good-tea sounded even better, so he might as well. “Very well.” He sat his suitcase down by the door and turned around to look at her. This time he was prepared for what he might see, hoping she at least had the decency not to parade around in that nighty where his young son could have seen. If not, then he knew he would have to tell Maurice that he would not be able to accommodate her anymore, not that he wanted to in the first place.

            Luckily, that wasn’t going to happen because she was decently covered-enough at least to be around his son-but not enough to keep those unwanted feelings at bay. Belle was still wearing his nightshirt, but buttoned now, so if she still had the teddy on he couldn’t tell. His shirt was rather long on her, falling just at her knees. It covered her, but her nice creamy legs were still exposed and the picture of her twirling in front of him surfaced in his mind.

            He swallowed thickly, unsure if he could do this. Wait…what was he thinking? He had dealt with more difficult situations before! He could handle this, no problem. Straightening his back, he didn’t look directly at her and started toward the kitchen. “I see you’re still wearing my shirt,” he commented bluntly. “Why haven’t you changed?”

            “Oh…” Belle glanced down at herself nervously, twisting the shirt in her hands. “I will…but my dress is still drying. I had to wash it last night.”

            Reasonable, but it didn’t make him feel any less upset. He didn’t like excuses. He walked over to the kettle and set to boiling water for his tea. “And I trust you didn’t wear that red nightgown in front of my son this morning.” He spoke so calmly it was almost sinister.

            “No, I didn’t.” Belle was still shocked by his previous reaction and he seemed very unhappy with her now, and she thought she knew why. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “I didn’t think you would hate the gown that much…”

            “Belle, I didn’t hate the gown,” he barked, slamming his cup down on the counter and turning to face her.

            Belle looked up at him, worried, able to see the fierceness burning in his eyes and she couldn’t help but feel a little terrified.

            “I did not appreciate you coming in my bed uninvited in some pathetic attempt to seduce me,” he continued, speaking with is hands to show how true his words were.

            “I wasn’t trying to seduce you,” she replied, clearly sincere. “I…I don’t even know what seduce means.”

            He stared at her with a creased brow, fed up with her supposed naivety. “You’re sure? You’re sure you aren’t here for my money?” He was still convinced of that and no matter what her answer, he wasn’t sure he would believe otherwise.

            Belle shook her head. “I don’t care about money. We elves never have to worry about money…”

            He resisted the urge to groan. This elf act was getting old fast. Still, she seemed genuine, so he decided for now he would trust her. In the end, if he was wrong, then it would be Maurice’s problem.

            The kettle whistled and he turned around to tend to the tea and return to ignoring Belle.

            Belle could tell he believed her, but there was still this tension between them that she wanted to break. “So you did like my nightgown?” she asked with a smile, taking a step toward him.   
            Of course she was still on the nightgown subject and he realized then he had made the stupid mistake of saying he didn’t hate it. “Belle there was nothing wrong with the gown, it was just inappropriate.”

            “Inappropriate? But you said it was meant for a woman.”

            “And it is,” he agreed, dipping a tea bag in his cup and walking over to the kitchen table to sit down and enjoy it. How was he going to explain this to her? He really didn’t want to. Did she really not know?

            He glanced up at her. Nope, she didn’t-that much was clear on her befuddled face. Sighing again, he took a sip of his tea, deciding on the best thing to say to avoid a slew of questions. “It’s meant for a woman who wants to impress a man whom she’s in love with. We are not in love.” That wasn’t completely true, but it was a description that he was sure she could understand.

            “Oh…OH!” Belle felt absolutely dense then. How could she be so foolish? She blushed profusely. “I’m so sorry…I didn’t know…I guess I should have known…but this, everything in this world…it’s just all so new to me.”

            She was blushing again-he loved it when she blushed. “Elves don’t have lingerie?” he joked with a chuckle before he could even think about what he was saying. Was he really playing a long now? What was wrong with him?

            Belle giggled and looked away, going over to the stove. He was teasing her now…that was a good sign. “It’s too cold up there to sleep in anything like that. All of our clothes are made of wool or other warm materials-like my dress.”

            “Must be terribly boring, to wear the same thing every day.” He said it, yet it didn’t occur to him that in a way he did the same. He always wore a suit no matter what, but they weren’t all the same suit.

            “Yes, well…” Belle looked a little flustered. “Breakfast?” she offered once more.

            He stared at her for a moment, watching as she stood on her tiptoes to pull a plate out of the cabinet. There in his kitchen, dressed in his clothes, with her brown locks a little messy from sleep, she almost looked as if she belonged there. He smiled just a little. “Please,” he replied.

Belle noticed his smile and returned it, but couldn’t help but avert her eyes.   
            Gold seemed lost in the moment, but he quickly brushed it off and went back to his tea. And just when he thought he was done with surprises for the day, Belle plopped a plateful of spaghetti in front of him and drenched it in maple syrup.

            “Enjoy!” she squealed happily.


	15. Chapter 15

            Once Neal and Gold were both gone for the day, Belle was left all alone in the penthouse. At first it was okay. Belle kept herself busy with cleaning the kitchen, making the bed, and then changing into her elf outfit as soon as it was dry.

            And she also had big plans for the apartment; a surprise she had to work on and make sure was finished before Neal got out of school or Gold off of work. She wanted to brighten the place up, make it less dreary, and also give it that Christmas ambiance that she loved so much.

            Both these men clearly needed something to cheer them up, some sort of light in their lives. She remembered what her Papa had said: how better to do it then give them some Christmas spirit.

            So she set to work, finding things she could fashion into decorations. She started with creating a series of paper chains and snowflakes out of all the extra sheets of paper in the library. She strung them across every room in the house, including the beds and baths, not leaving one bit of ceiling space free. Some hung high, some hung low. Belle made the snowflakes different shapes and sizes. She plastered some to the cabinets and others around the edges of furniture.

            Then she found some extra pillows and disassembled them, using the stuffing inside as fake snow to line all the windows with. She paused to admire the city once again, not able to get enough of the spectacular view. That day it was even more stunning because the night before it had begun to snow and now everything was covered in a fresh thick blanket of white.

            She desperately wanted to go outside and play in it…but she didn’t want to go alone. Being by herself all morning in the apartment had made her lonely and she wasn’t sure she would be able to find anyone to play with her right now. All the children were in school and the adults seemed too much in a hurry to stop to do anything.

            But Neal would be off from school soon enough, sooner than Gold. Surely he would want to go out and play. An idea struck her then: she would meet him at the schoolhouse that afternoon. That way they could go straight to the park and make the most of the daylight hours.

            However, that was still several hours from now and Belle had to find something to occupy her time until then. She was almost done decorating with what was available to her. The apartment was definitely looking all the merrier, but it was still missing several major things like the tree, lights, and stockings by the fireplace.

            Belle knew the fireplace in the living room wasn’t a real one; there was no chimney on this giant building. It had to be just for decoration to make the room come together, but that didn’t bother her. She knew not every home had a fireplace. It was Santa’s preferred method of entrance, but he could still get in on Christmas Eve to deliver presents fireplace or no. At least Gold had a pretend one so she had a good place to put the stockings when she acquired some.

            It wasn’t until she was finished decorating that she realized how lonely she truly was. Being from the North Pole, she worked fast, so it was still several hours until she could go to meet Neal. She was always accustomed to having someone else with her so this was different.

            For a while she just stood at the large windows and watched the snow fall from the sky, something she would never grow tired of. Still, it created a sense of longing in her and she needed to find something else to do so she wouldn’t go mad.

            Her stomach growled lightly, so first she ventured into the kitchen to make herself lunch. She prepared spaghetti of course, having found a new favorite food.

            While she waited for the water to boil, she danced around the kitchen, light on her feet, humming the tune to ‘Jingle Bells.’ Suddenly she was startled out of her own little fantasy world by a very loud rumbling noise coming from the other room. She gasped and jumped back away from the laundry room-where it sounded like it was coming from.

            The noise began to get louder causing her to be even more frightened. Oh gods…what was that? Was it a snow monster? Had someone broken into the apartment? She didn’t want to find out, but she also didn’t know what to do.

            It was then she noticed the little telephone sitting on the counter Gold had left her in case of an emergency. Swiftly grabbing it off the counter, she ducked into the little cubby between the cabinet and the wall to hide as she dialed the number, remembering the way Gold had shown her.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

            The morning had surprisingly gone very smoothly for Gold. He had made a few deals, signed off a few books, and was ahead with all of his paperwork.

            David’s voice sounded over the intercom. “Mr. Gold you have Belle on line one.”

            Belle. Gold rolled his eyes. For a couple hours at least he had managed to forget about her, about what had happened the night before. Now hearing her name again caused all those images and feelings to surface again. He did not want to talk to her.

            “Tell her I’m busy, David,” he commanded as he continued glancing through papers.

            “She said it’s urgent.”

            Gold sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. There was no telling if that was true or not. Her version of urgent was probably a broken Christmas light or burnt cookies. Or perhaps it really was an emergency and she was burning his house down.

            He grabbed the receiver, feeling a little worried, but not sure if it was for his apartment and all his things, or for Belle’s safety. “Belle?”

            “Mister Gold!” Belle sounded very relieved that he had answered, but she also sounded frightened. “Please you have to come home…”

            “What’s wrong?”

            “There’s someone or something in the house!”

            An intruder? He felt his stomach drop. Belle was in danger?! “Belle you need to call 911!”

            “911?” Belle sounded confused. “But I called you…ahhhh!” Belle screamed as she heard that rumbling noise again.

            “Belle what is it? Are you hurt?” He stood up as he began to get truly worried for this woman that he was supposed to _not_ care about.

            “I heard it again…that noise.”

            “Noise?” What was she going on about? “Belle what noise?”

            “It’s a loud rumble, coming from the laundry room.”

            Gold frowned and relaxed-well as relaxed as he could be given the fact that now he was annoyed. “Belle are you referring to the furnace?”

            “No! NO!” Belle shook her head even though Gold couldn’t see her. “It’s not the furnace…” The heat kicked on then, which caused the rumbling sound to level out into a quiet hum. “OH, OH…it _is_ the furnace. False alarm.”

            Gold really had to resist the urge not to yell at the girl. It wasn’t quite his burnt cookie theory, but close enough. This was getting out of hand. But he surprisingly remained calm, which was very uncharacteristic of him. “Belle don’t call this number unless it’s a true emergency.”

            He slammed the receiver down then and went back to work.

            Belle of course did not pick up on the fact that he was aggravated with her and just went back to preparing lunch as happy as could be.

            After she ate she decided to explore the penthouse and look at all the wonderful things Gold possessed. There were many old antiques displayed around the apartment, all which looked like they came from different parts of the world. She made a mental note to remember to ask him about them. Each and everything looked like it possessed a unique story, and she was dying to know what they were.

            Most of the appliances around she were unfamiliar with, but she began to fiddle with them to try to figure out their purpose.

            In the laundry room she found an iron and after plugging it in she realized it was just something that got very very hot for no reason. She made sure to unplug it. In the kitchen she found a coffee maker, which didn’t do much when she pushed the button, but moments later it began spitting out a hot brown liquid that went flowing out on the floor because there was nothing to catch it. She cleaned it up. In the library she found a shredder that apparently liked to eat things, which she learned the hard way by sticking her finger in it when it didn’t do anything. She hid that one because it reminded her of those moving stairs that tried to ear her dress. She did not like these things that wanted to eat her or her stuff.

            In the bathroom she found the silliest looking toothbrush that spun around in circles when she clicked the switch. How one would brush their teeth with it she did not understand. She also found a hairdryer, which blew hot air at her, blowing her little pink hat right off her head. She turned it off and put it away. What was it with all these things that liked to get hot?

            Finally in the living room she found the remote, and when pressed right, turned on the television, the thing that looked like the big screens in Times Square only much smaller.

            There were people on the screen and it caused her to stare as she watched what they were doing. It was two men sitting in a bar discussing some kind of deal they had made which the other backed out of. The one man looked really angry. Was this real? How was she seeing this? Suddenly the other man hopped out of his seat and lunged at his friend with a knife, stabbing him to death. His blood spilled all over the floor as the other man fled the scene.

            Belle screamed! She had just witnessed a murder!

            “Belle on line one.” David’s voice again.

            Oh gods what could she possibly want now? Gold answered without hesitation, just wanting to get it over with.

            “Yes, Belle.” he said begrudgingly.

            Belle was hysterical and she tried her best to explain to him what she had just seen. She made no sense.

            “Belle, calm down. I can’t understand you!” What was she afraid of now? The dishwasher?

            Belle took a few deep breaths and tried to focus enough to tell him what had happened. “That guy…he just killed the other guy…I…can’t believe it…I…”

            “Belle what are you talking about?” Had she witnessed something on the street?

            “The screen in your living room, I turned it on and it showed me a man murdering another…” She began to sob, feeling so horrible for the family who had just lost a father or a brother.

            Oh gods was she talking about the television? SERIOUSLY? She was really sticking with this elf story, pretending she had never experienced anything in civilization before. It was absurd. “Belle it’s a television. It’s make-believe. No one killed anyone.”

            “Make-believe? Like, pretend, like a play?”

            “Yes, like a play, now please, DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER AGAIN!” He regretted ever giving it to her, cursing himself for not realizing this kind of thing might have happened.

            He hung up with her again, leaving her still a little bemused.

            Belle sighed, set the phone down, and glanced up at the tv cautiously. Make-believe. It was make-believe. Some sort of machine that told stories. She hit a few more buttons on the remote. One changed the volume and the other flipped between the pictures. She watching in awe as it showed her a variety of different things. One picture, people were eating cereal, another a little boy was playing with his dog. There were pictures with real people and ones with drawn characters like the one with a fat yellow bear. She stopped flipping when she landed on a Christmas movie, showing a couple dancing and then kissing under the mistletoe. It was beautiful and made her feel warm inside.

            Perhaps once she put the tree up, Gold would want to dance with her. Yes she knew they weren’t a couple, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t dance or kiss under the mistletoe. That’s what it was there for, to kiss under. And she’d always wanted to dance with someone who was her size or taller. Until now, she never thought that was a possibility.

            This couple wasn’t just kissing under the mistletoe though…now they were in the bed kissing there too and stripping all their clothes off, preparing to do something much more than snuggle.

            She blushed profusely even though there was no one else around to see what she was watching. But this was something intimate that she quickly determined was only for couples in love. She wondered if that was what Gold had thought she wanted to do the night before and that’s why he had gotten so angry-because they weren’t in love.

            She sighed and flipped the tv off as she thought about love. She loved many things, but she had never experienced romantic love before. She wondered if she would or what it felt like or if she would even know it if she did feel it.

            Perhaps she could ask Gold about that too. He had a son and had once had a wife, so he had to have been in love before. He knew more about it than she.

            The rest of the afternoon she continued rummaging and exploring until it was time to leave to meet Neal.

            As she strolled down the sidewalk toward the school, she couldn’t wait to spend time with Gold’s son. She just wanted to get to know both him and Gold.


	16. Chapter 16

            Belle arrived to the school a little early, having not been completely sure of what time Neal would be released, but she didn’t mind waiting. She found a set of stairs across the street with a good view of the front door to the school where she could sit. She was afraid if she sat on the stairs to the school that she would be trampled when all the children were released. It was a bit boring to just sit and do nothing. The passerby’s refused to stop and talk to her and there wasn’t much scenery to admire. If only she had a good book…

            When the bell finally rang that signaled the end of the school day, Neal couldn’t be more relieved. It had been a rather dull day and time had snuck by agonizingly slow because he had made plans to meet up with a classmate-a girl that he found particularly interesting. That had been all he could think about, unable to concentrate on his work, but finally the time had come.

            Yet, when he stepped outside the building the last thing he expected to see was that elf girl his father had brought home sitting across the street. Oh gods, what on earth was she doing there? What was she waiting for?

            Well he certainly wasn’t going to stick around long enough to find out. He couldn’t let any of the other children think that he had anything to do with that woman. She was mad! He was already picked on enough because of his father, things could only get worse if the others thought he hung around with a woman who thought she was an elf. Not to mention he might lose his chance with the little blonde named Emma he had a crush on.

            Managing to duck behind some other students before Belle could see him, Neal snuck along the stairs, feeling hopeful that he was getting away without being seen. His victory was short lived, however, when Emma came bounding out of the school and called out to him loudly to get his attention.

            “Neal! Neal!” the young girl with long blonde hair and green eyes yelled with a smile. She ran to catch up with him while Neal groaned inwardly, knowing Belle would have heard.

            He turned around and smiled at Emma, happy to see her, but not as happy as he could have been. “Hey…I thought we were meeting at the park?” he asked.

            “Yeah,” Emma told him, “but my mother said she doesn’t need me this afternoon, so I hoped I would catch you so we could walk together.”  

            Neal smiled a little brighter at that idea. He really knew he would enjoy that, unfortunately it wasn’t going to work out as planned. Seconds later Belle came bounding up, light on her feet, and as joyful as can be.

            “Neal! Hi!” Belle greeted, coming to stand next to him. She looked over at Emma and smiled at her as well, waiting for Neal to introduce her.

            Emma returned the smile, but she looked at the woman strangely, unsure as to why she was dressed as an elf.

            Neal did not introduce her and he just kept his head down refusing to look at Belle and trying to shoot Emma a glance that said silently ‘let’s get out of here.’

            For a second, Emma almost seemed to take the hint, but then Belle addressed her. “Hi, I’m Belle. I’m a friend of Neal’s. What’s your name? You’re very pretty. What would you like for Christmas? I could always put in a good word with Santa.”

            Emma tilted her head, looking at the woman strangely. From Neal’s reaction she had assumed this was just a crazy lady coming up to greet them to possibly ask for money, but now she wasn’t so sure. “You know her?” she asked Neal, ignoring Belle’s question.

            “Not really, no,” Neal answered immediately. He reached out to take Emma’s hand and tried to drag her away. “Come on, let’s go.”

            “Neal!” Belle called to stop him as the couple darted away. “Wait up! I thought we could build snowmen and make snow angels until your father got home!”

            That was the last thing Neal wanted to do. Neal felt Emma halt, bringing him to one as well. He turned around to look at her and she looked annoyed. “Neal, you do know this woman don’t you?”

            Neal held his head in shame and sighed. “Well sort of, not really-my father brought her home…”

            Emma was getting increasingly uncomfortable and she could sense there was some tension in the air. From what she could decipher from Neal’s body language and words, it seemed Belle was his father’s girlfriend-a strange girlfriend, and Neal was having difficulties with it. She frowned slightly at Neal. “Perhaps we should hang out another day-you know after you get this straightened out.”

            Neal felt like his heart was breaking when he heard that. All day he had looked forward to this and now Belle had come along and ruined it. “Emma!” he called, trying to stop her, but she just mouthed bye, shot Belle a glance, and fled.

            “Bye!” Belle called cheerily, not sensing anything was wrong with Emma’s attitude whatsoever. She glanced back over to Neal with the biggest smile on her face.

            Neal just glared at her, didn’t say another word, turned on his heels, and began to walk as fast as he could to try and get away from her.

            Belle was a little confused by the way he was acting, but that didn’t stop her from trailing after him. “Neal! Neal! Wait for me!”

            “Go away!” Neal yelled back angrily without stopping. Instead he just picked up his pace.

            Go away? Surely he didn’t mean that! Belle continued after him, trying to reason with him to stop. She was so excited about spending the evening with him playing in the snow; she knew he would enjoy it if he just gave it a chance.

            She followed him for blocks and down into Central Park with no luck of convincing him. He just seemed so angry and she honestly had no idea why. Maybe it was just something he got from his father? Mr. Gold was angry almost all the time and she knew it was because he was on the naughty list. She was fairly certain Neal was not on that list. From what she could tell he seemed like a good boy. So why would he be so upset?

            It wasn’t until they got near the large rocks in Central Park when Neal finally stopped. He swung around furiously, ready to tell Belle what was on his mind. Yet, as soon as he opened his mouth a snowball came flying at him and smacked him dead center in the face. He sputtered and spit out some snow and stumbled backwards, completely taken aback.

            Belle looked around to see where the surprise snowball had come from. At first she couldn’t see, but then… “There!” On the bridge!” she pointed over above the rocks to a couple of children hiding behind the columns of the walking bridge. Both children looked to be about Neal’s age and they were both boys. One was a bit chubby and wore a red stocking cap on his head. The other was slender, dressed in a black leather coat with a head full of dark hair to match.

            “Oh no,” Neal groaned when he saw who it was. “Not those guys!” He wanted to run but he knew there was no escaping so he looked for a place to hide.

            But just then a slew of snowballs began to be pelted at both Belle and Neal, so many that they couldn’t possibly be coming from only two kids. Apparently those two boys weren’t the only ones up on the bridge. They had brought reinforcements.

“Belle come on, don’t just stand there!” Neal ducked behind a big rock motioning for her to follow. If she stayed there, then it would only make it worse for him in the end.

Belle obeyed and knelt beside him. The two of them were out of the line of fire, at least for the moment. She looked at Neal determined. “Why do you look so worried? We can take them,” she said optimistically.

Neal creased his eyebrows at her. “Belle there are two of us and lots of them-I don’t see how…”

There was that constant negativity, just like his father. Belle held her head up high. “I’ll show you. Just start making as many snowballs as you can.”

Neal was still a little confused; he didn’t see how they could possibly take those other kids, but he also didn’t want to give up. So he listened to her and did as she said.

He was still feeling discouraged though; he didn’t play out in the snow very often so he wasn’t the best at making snowballs. A few minutes later he had only managed to form a couple.

Belle however, well she _had_ made a couple too…a couple hundred. Neal’s mouth fell open when he looked up and saw the pile. He couldn’t believe it. How did she do that? He had only had his back turned for just a minute…

“Ready?” Belle said, looking at him fiercely with a handful of snowballs. She loved a good snowball fight and she was definitely prepared.

Neal was still in shock. “Yeah…I…uh…guess…” he managed to stutter.

As soon as she got the conformation, Belle was up from their hiding place and pelting snowballs as fast as she could at all the bully children. Her aim was impeccable and she threw so fast-faster than any human could ever throw-that all Neal could do was just sit there and stare in awe, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The other children began screaming, unsure of how all of this was happening and despite the ‘leader’s’ orders, they all started to flee.

Belle stood from her hiding place, tall and proud, smirking triumphantly. Neal, still a bit cautious, only peeked over the rock to see if the kids were indeed gone and to make sure this just wasn’t some kind of trick. It appeared they were in the clear and he began to stand as well when out of the corner of his eye he noticed one child still lurking in the trees. It was the ‘leader,’ a boy named Killian who always bullied him.

“We can’t let him get away,” Neal told Belle, stealthily pointing out the boy.

Belle’s eyes darted over to the tree line where she instantly spotted the child hiding. “Snowball,” she commanded, holding her hand out toward Neal while keeping her focus on Killian.

Neal rolled one up as fast as he could and placed it in Belle’s hand without hesitation.

Belle’s face had gone steadfast now and she narrowed her eyes as she held her hand high and then flung the snowball through the air.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion then. The ball floated through the air and Killian saw it coming immediately turning on his heels to run away. But it was if Belle knew that would happen and had accounted for it as the ball soon met with the boys back, knocking him forward onto the ground before he scrambled up and disappeared for good.

Belle grinned victoriously. “See I told you we could take them.”

Neal finally stood then when he was certain the bully was gone and he looked up at Belle with wonder. “How did you do that?” Neal asked, referring to the way she made the snowballs and how she could throw them so fast and accurately.

“We elves hold a snowball tournament every year. I’ve been the undefeated champion for the past three years in a row.”

“Really?” Neal didn’t truly know what to think right then. He had been so convinced that Belle’s elf story had been nothing more than an act, but after what he had just witnessed, he wasn’t so sure anymore. No human could throw like that could they? Maybe she was telling the truth. Even if someone had convinced themselves it was the truth, they wouldn’t be able to perform out of this world feats.

“Really,” Belle confirmed with a nod and a grin.

For the first time since meeting, Neal looked up at Belle and smiled, a true, genuine smile. “T…thank you…for helping me avoid those boys.”

Belle felt all warm and fuzzy inside. For once she was beginning to feel like she was getting through to this boy and brightening his day. “You’re welcome.” She reached out and grabbed his hand to lead him toward an open field of fresh snow, surprisingly not getting any resistance this time. “Now come on…let’s go build a snowman.”

           

           


	17. Chapter 17

            Surprisingly, Neal enjoyed playing in the snow much more than he thought he would. At first he was a little withdrawn and wanted to mostly stand back and watch, but with Belle’s cheery attitude and insistence he eventually began to come out of his shell and help her build a snowman.

            Like the snowballs, he hadn’t had much experience, and he was having a little trouble. Normally he would have felt discouraged, but Belle made sure he feel anything but that. She was so encouraging and didn’t laugh at him or scold him for making a mistake. It was refreshing, something he wasn’t used to. His father would have reprimanded him for not being perfect and the other children would have just made fun of him for not being good at such a simple task.

            But not Belle…no. She was very odd for sure, but she was so incredibly nice and her outlook on life was so different, so happy. Quickly he was beginning to really like her, despite his reservations at first. She had good intentions and that was what mattered.

            The two of them ended up spending the rest of the day together, mostly playing in the snow and running around the park joyfully as if they were both children.

            But as the sun began to dip low in the sky, the temperature dropped, and even Belle knew it was time to go home. Not to mention the both of them were getting hungry.

            “I wonder what your father cooked for dinner, I hope it’s spaghetti,” Belle said as they walked along through the park on the way back to the apartment.

            Neal chuckled. “I doubt he’ll make more spaghetti,” Neal told her. “Actually he won’t make anything at all. Mrs. Potts will.” He spoke with a little bit of bitterness, which was toward his father and not the nanny.

            “Oh!” Belle exclaimed, not picking up on his resentfulness at all. “Well perhaps she will prepare it then…oh! I completely forgot!” She stopped in her tracks and turned to face Neal with the biggest smile on her face. “I have a surprise for you and your father when you get home!”

            “A surprise?” Neal brightened a good bit, briefly forgetting about his indignant feelings toward his father. “What is it?” He really was excited now, wanting to know what it was. He wasn’t accustomed to surprises.

            “Come on, let’s hurry so you can see!” Belle grabbed his hand and drug him along as fast as she could.

            The surprise was the Christmas decorations that she had worked so hard on that morning. She could tell this boy’s life was filled with a lot of disappointment and she hoped it would bring some joy to him. It should in her eyes; Christmas was supposed to bring joy to anyone. She couldn’t understand why that could ever not be the case.

            She only hoped Mr. Gold hadn’t made it home yet-she wanted to see the look on his face when he saw how wonderful of a job she had done. He needed happiness in his life as well.

            It was late though, so surely he would be there, but when the two of them came bursting in the penthouse, she could tell he was nowhere in sight.

            “Whoa!” Neal exclaimed as his eyes sparkled with amazement. “You did all of this?”

            Belle nodded even though Neal’s sights were set on the decorations. “Mm-hmm. You like them?”

            “Like them? I love them!” Neal squealed and began to run around the house looking at everything and making Belle giggle. This was an entirely new side to him and she enjoyed seeing him so happy.

            “What’s all the commotion out here?” A female voice came from the other side of the room and out stepped Mrs. Potts from the kitchen as she looked to see it was only Neal and Belle. She grinned from ear to ear. “Oh it’s only you dear.”

            Neal came up to give the plump woman a hug. “Did you see what Belle did?” he asked.

            Mrs. Potts chuckled. “How could I miss it? I just hope your father doesn’t…”

            “Just hope his father doesn’t what?” Mrs. Potts was cut off then and everyone turned around to see Mr. Gold standing there at the elevator doors with his briefcase in one hand and a deep scowl on his face. His eyes wandered around the room taking in all of the homemade Christmas decorations and the ripped pillows she had apparently used to make fake snow with. He appeared as if he was about to explode.

            “Mr. Gold,” Belle called cheerfully, taking a step toward him, clearly glad to see him and of course not noticing anything out of the ordinary.

            Mr. Gold glared at her fiercely, but there was still an eerie calm about him, one that even made Neal and Mrs. Potts cower back, fearing what he was about to do next.

            Belle felt a little blush creep up on her face and she broke his gaze, glancing at the décor. “What do you think?” she asked, feeling a tinge of disappointment that he hadn’t truly shown any positive feelings toward her surprise.

            He stared at her for another long and hard moment before finally speaking in a harsh and low tone. It sounded almost sarcastic, but it was far from it. “What I think is that I can’t trust you to be here alone.” Without giving her or anyone else a chance to respond he stomped of toward his room, tearing down a few paper chains and tossing them on the floor in an irritated manner as they knocked him in the head.  

            He paused in his doorway and swung back around to face Belle with fire in his eyes. “When I emerge next there best not be a trace of this…” He flung his hands around in a showy manner indicating the decorations. “…any of this, anywhere in my apartment!”

            And with that he slammed the door as hard as he could, causing everyone to flinch.

            There was a long moment of silence in the room and for the first time ever, Belle truly looked disheartened and saddened. Mr. Gold hadn’t like the decorations, not at all. And he wanted her to take them down. What had she done wrong? Was it because she had forgotten the Christmas tree? The stockings? The candy canes?

            She didn’t actually forget them; she just didn’t have them. She had done her best with what she had to work with, but apparently it wasn’t good enough. But she didn’t stay discouraged for long. If he didn’t like it, then she would just have to try again, find the things she really needed like a Christmas tree, garland, and lights; find what would really make him happy, what would make him smile.

            Feeling determined, she walked over to do as he wished only to be halted instantly by Neal.

            “Belle wait!” The boy cried as he ran over to her and grabbed her arm to stop her from pulling down a string of paper snowflakes. “I don’t want you to take it down. I love it. I want it to stay up.”

            “But your father…”

            Neal frowned and glanced down at his shoes. “I know what my father said…he doesn’t like anything…but please, leave it up? For me? If he doesn’t like it then he can take it down himself!”

            Belle sighed. “Very well.” She smiled yet again. She really did enjoy making this little boy happy and she wasn’t going to do anything to screw that up.

            Neal beamed and hugged Belle for the first time ever. It took Belle a little bit by surprise, but she was quick to return the hug, after all she loved them!

            “Don’t worry much about Mr. Gold my dear,” Mrs. Potts told her as they walked to the kitchen to have dinner. “There isn’t much that makes him happy, but he loves his son and wants him to be happy. He’ll come around when he sees what joy you’ve brought to Neal.”

            “You really think so?”

            “I know so…now, come along and let’s have dinner.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

            The three of them ended up having dinner together that night, as Mr. Gold never emerged from his bedroom. He just couldn’t be around Belle that evening; she had taken too many liberties and destroyed his things doing so. His sheets still smelled of her and he was quick to change them himself, not wanting to go out there to get Mrs. Potts and having to face Belle. He made sure the bedroom door was locked as well. He learned his lesson.

            After he finished, he went through his usual evening routine, ignoring the hunger and getting straight into bed after his shower to work until he was ready to actually go to sleep.

            But doing actual work was very difficult. He couldn’t concentrate. All he could think about was the mess Belle had made of his apartment and the mess she was trying to make of his life. It had only been a couple days; making it through a couple weeks was going to be next to impossible.

            The woman needed a babysitter! Who knew what else she would do if he left her home alone again! And then there was the excessive phone calls… He rolled his eyes and tossed his papers to the side, then settled down in bed, turning the light out, hoping sleep would come fast. But his mind continued whirling.

            He was going to have to do something with her when he went to work and the sinking feeling in his stomach told him there was only one option other than throwing her out on the streets and breaking his deal with Maurice: he had to take her to work with him.


	18. Chapter 18

            Belle didn’t sleep too well that night. Not only was she unsettled by the fact that Gold was mad at her-she didn’t like anyone to be mad at her-but she was also confined to sleeping on that pull out mattress this time in the cold library.

            Gold had locked his door and refused to answer when she knocked so she was certain he didn’t want to cuddle or share that warm bed. Just another reason to add to why he was on the naughty list: he didn’t like to share. But why didn’t he like to cuddle? Everyone she had ever met liked to cuddle! But then again they were all elfs…maybe humans were completely different. Maybe none of them liked to cuddle. Well they were missing out for sure.

            After a few failed attempts at sleeping in the library, Belle ended up in the living room on the couch were she settled in and turned the television on. She would have preferred a good book, but there were none so she settled for a good Christmas movie instead. The one on was a comedy, about a little blonde boy who desperately wanted a Red Ryder bb-gun for Christmas, but all the adults insisted it was too dangerous. She was very intrigued to find out if Santa would bring it or not, but she fell asleep just before she could.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

            When Gold stepped out of his bedroom that morning, completely dressed and ready for the day, he was not ready to find his apartment was still in the same disarray that it had been the night before. Belle hadn’t removed ANY of the decorations!

            Oh how that infuriated him. His fists clenched at his sides and he stomped to the library to search for her, ready to give her a true piece of his mind, ready to show him the real Gold. He had been too nice before; there would be no more of that. He would ensure she knew that if she didn’t obey his rules then she would be out of his hair no matter what deal he had with her father.

            But she wasn’t in the library. Perhaps she was already awake and making spaghetti again for breakfast-something that no human being in his or her right mind would ever want that early in the morning.

            Fuming, he fled the library into the living room where he paused, finding her fast asleep curled up in a little ball on the couch. The television had cut itself off with the automatic timer and her blanket had fallen onto the floor leaving her lying there shivering a little.

            Still..she looked so peaceful, so happy even in sleep and for just the briefest of seconds he felt a tinge of guilt for even considering waking her to yell at her. Yet when a piece of tape gave way causing one of the paper chains to come loose and fall right in his face he completely went back to being just as furious, if not more than he was before.

            In a fit of fury he grabbed the few chains around him and ripped them from the ceiling and balled them up into a big wad of trash as he yelled loudly. “Ahhhhh! BELLE!!!!!!!”

            Belle’s eye’s popped open and she was instantly on her feet thinking something was terribly wrong. She was still dressed in her pink elf dress, minus the hat. She had learned her lesson from the night before about wearing the nightgown.

            “Mr. Gold?” She rubbed her eyes still groggy from sleep. “What’s wrong?” She looked genuinely confused and at first she couldn’t tell he was angry, but that would quickly change.

            He took several steps toward her in a rushing motion ready to yell, ready to scream, and ready to throw her and all her ridiculous decorations out on the streets. His mouth was curled up in a snarl, his finger pointing at her in a disciplinary manner and as he loomed over her he appeared very threatening.

But just before one word slipped from his lips he paused. Belle looked absolutely terrified in that moment, weak, helpless, and confused. And something about how those big blue gazed up at him waiting patiently for his outburst seemed to cause all his anger to instantly melt away. He sighed heavily and leaned back away from her. “Go get dressed,” he demanded, defeated, ready for this all to be over.

“Dressed?” Belle tilted her head with curiosity. “But I am dressed.” She did a little twirl, her pink dress flaring out and brushing against Gold’s arm.

“That you are,” he said in a sarcastic tone resisting an urge to roll his eyes. It hadn’t occurred to him before-not really-that she didn’t have anything else to wear. And if he was going to take her to work with him-if he was truly considering taking her to work with him-he could not take her dressed like that. He didn’t even want to be seen in public with her dressed like that. Honestly, he didn’t even want to think she went out in public like that alone. It was horrifying.

So what could he do about it? He didn’t have any women’s clothing. And he couldn’t ask Mrs. Potts; her clothes wouldn’t fit. And there was no way he was going to give her his. So what could he do?

Then, it came to him. An idea that would both get her into normal clothing and punish Maurice as well. It would also keep him from having to have her stay with him at the office the majority of the day. He smirked a little devilishly. “Just get your shoes on, it’s time to go.”

“Go? Go where? Oh! Are we going to pick out a Christmas tree? Is Neal coming with us? Are we going Christmas shopping? Or perhaps ice skating?...” Belle had perked up again, showing no sign of stopping the guessing game.

Gold’s eyebrows lifted high, showing he just couldn’t understand where this woman’s energy came from. “Neal has school,” he interjected. “And I have work. There’s no time for Christmas frivolities. And you are to come to work with me.”

“What kind of work? Building toys?”

“OF COURSE WE’RE NOT BUILDING TOYS!” he snapped then, growing fed up with her again.

Belle jumped at his tone and went silent. She then nodded and broke her gaze. “I’ll get my shoes on.” She rushed over to the door to do just so. She had only suggested the building toys because that was the only work she knew. Silly her though; building toys was for elves, not humans.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

            Jingle, jingle, jingle. Belle’s shoes rang with every step as she tried to keep up with Gold. It was everything Gold could do to hold on to his sanity. He couldn’t listen to that all day long. Luckily he wouldn’t have to.

            As they exited the building, a black Lincoln town car was already outside waiting for them. The chauffeur opened the door as soon as he saw Gold.

            “Good morning sir,” he greeted.

            Gold only acknowledged him with a nod before climbing into the backseat and moving over to leave room for Belle. Belle walked up and stopped just next to the man and smiled big, staring at him.

            For a moment the man just looked confused, especially when Belle didn’t say anything. “Miss,” he said, motioning for her to get in.

            “Thank you,” she said as she sat down and pulled her feet in before he shut the door.

            Belle hopped up and down on her bottom in the back a couple times. “Squishy,” she commented, referring to the seat.

            Gold ignored her and car began to drive away.

            Belle sensed there was something wrong with Gold-as there usually seemed to be-and she was determined to break the uncomfortable silence.

            “You know I’ve never been in a car before,” she told him to initiate small talk. She was looking all around at the contraption, admiring it’s oddities.  

            “Of course you haven’t,” he was using that sarcastic tone again and still refusing to look at her. “Why would you?” He waved a hand in the air in a dramatic gesture.

            Belle, who clearly never understood sarcasm, took his question to mean he was truly interested. “Well there are no roads in the North Pole-not car roads. And there’s too much snow. If we did have them, I don’t think we’d get very far.”

            Something about that statement made Gold look over. His face was mostly expressionless, but his eyebrow was cocked and he looked at her as if he was trying to understand her. “You really do believe you came from the North Pole don’t you?”

            “No, I came from here…but I grew up in the North Pole,” she corrected.

            He still didn’t believe her. He still thought she was some sort of con artist-a very good con artist. He turned back away from her and continued to look out the window hoping she would be quiet for once.

            And for once she was. Belle was beginning to pick up on his distrust of her and it broke her heart. She turned and looked out her own window as the car passed by all the giant buildings. It seemed every corner there was a Christmas tree, or giant Christmas Star, or funny Santa sculpture. One corner had giant lit ornaments, another huge snowmen. And that along with the freshly fallen snow made the city absolutely gorgeous and almost magical. It reminded her of the North Pole. How could such a beautiful city hold so many unhappy and angry people? She couldn’t understand.

            Gold was on the naughty list. She had to keep reminding herself of that. His mood and actions definitely proved that. But for some reason she was beginning to believe most of it was an act, that he was a good man beneath all that gruff who could come to be on the nice list if he only tried.

            Belle turned to glance over at him and smiled a bit. He was quite handsome, especially when he wasn’t angry. Yes-he could get on the nice list…

            “So if you don’t build toys, what kind of work do you do?” she asked, genuinely curious.

            “I’m in charge of a children’s book publishing company.” He mumbled more to himself than to her and still didn’t turn to face her.

            “BOOKS!?” Belle beamed and leaned over toward him, her eyes sparkling.

            He chuckled in a scoffing manner and turned toward her. “Let me guess you love books?”

            Belle nodded eagerly and leaned even further toward him.

            He noticed a glisten in her eyes and pure love, not just excitement. It was something he hadn’t seen in her eyes before, even when she spoke so fondly of Christmas. “And I suppose in your free time all you elves spend it reading books?”

He grinned from ear to ear. He had to admit he was having a little fun mocking her ridiculous back-story.

            But then he saw something else he had never seen before, not in her eyes or on any of her expressions. Something that then made him feel slightly-only ever so slightly-guilty that he was taunting her when she didn’t understand.

            There was a defeat in her eyes, something more than just general disappointment. It was mixed with sadness and even a hint of depression. And now for once-he was intrigued.

            “Actually no,” she said finally, moving back to sit in her seat and breaking her gaze from his. She stared down at the floor this time and nervously fiddled with her skirt. “The other elves-I used to hear them talk about how strange it was that I had such a love for books. That it wasn’t natural, especially for a woman elf…” She closed her eyes as she fought back some tears.

            Gold stared at her in shock. This was all new to him. He had never seen her anything but cheerful and over the top happy. He hadn’t even believed she could be anything else.   Clearly he was wrong. And all because of books? Really? Elves didn’t agree with a woman reading? Could this get any more absurd?

            “Sir, we’ve arrived,” the driver interrupted.

            Gold was very thankful. He really didn’t want to deal with this uncomfortable situation whatsoever and this was just the diversion he needed to end it.

            “Belle open your eyes and look out the window,” he told her. He wasn’t willing to admit it then, but he didn’t like it when she wasn’t smiling and he knew when she saw where they were that smile would swiftly return.

            Belle did open her eyes, but her gaze went to Gold first and not the window. Their eyes met for a brief second and there was a hint of the real smile on his face as he waited for her to listen. Her chest began to feel a little warm and her breath hitched. She smiled again then too, but for reasons she didn’t understand.

            “Belle, the window,” he reminded her; unsure of what she was looking at him for.

            Belle blinked a few times, pushing away the strange feeling and then turned to do as he said. And that’s when her eyes went wider than they ever had before. “You brought me to…”

            “Yes, yes…” He was very proud of himself, for getting her so excited and for coming up with the perfect plan to get back at Maurice.

            It was then she squealed at the top of her lungs and scrambled to figure out how to get out of the car. “YOU BROUGHT ME TO A CHRISTMAS CASTLE!!!??!!”

           

           


End file.
